‘MLB The Show 21’ Comes To Xbox Game Pass Day One At No Charge

Sport ball! Hit a home-run! Sorry, is my not-a-sports-fan side showing? While I may not the be the most sport-inclined person on Earth, a recent sport game development notes an interesting industry trend and changing expectations for new releases. MLB The Show 21 will be releasing on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no extra charge for subscribers.

“We’re delighted to announce that MLB The Show 21 is coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one and will be available on April 20 for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, as well as on Android phones and tablets via Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) for Ultimate members,” Jamie Leece, MLB Senior Vice President, Games & VR wrote in a new post to the Xbox Wire official blog. “Both MLB The Show 21 Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S Standard Editions will be included with Xbox Game Pass so members will be able to play the best version of the game regardless of which console they’re on.”

Similar to day-in-day releases for movies in theaters and on streaming services, Leece and his team’s choice to open up MLB The Show to Xbox Game Pass subscribers highlights an industry trend currently on the uptick.

Xbox Game Pass has been a undeniable titan of on-demand gaming and left similar services like PlayStation Now leagues behind. After a generation of so-so game releases from Microsoft with the Xbox One, the company has gone on the offense by making their streaming service the unparalleled king in the inevitable world of game streaming. While PlayStation 5 owners still have a fair few exclusive games, Xbox has been sweetening the Xbox pot over the past years by making services like Game Pass so attractive. Owning an Xbox Series, or Xbox One system and having an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription gives players an HBO Max-like library at no extra cost to the player. As latency from streamed games drips to unnoticeable levels and opportunities to download games diversity, Nintendo and Sony will soon have miles of ground to cover against the waking Game Pass beast.