In late 2019, it was confirmed that future games in the MLB The Show franchise could potentially come to platforms besides PlayStation, despite Sony developing and publishing the games. MLB The Show 20 was too far along in development to make the jump to non-PlayStation consoles, but now it's been confirmed that MLB The Show 21 will be launching not just for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, but Xbox One and Xbox Series X as well.

Sony made the announcement with the MLB The Show 21 reveal trailer, confirming the game's release date, cover athlete Fernando "El Nino" Tatis Jr, and some other details in the process. Those looking forward to the game can expect MLB The Show 21 to launch on April 20 for all platforms, with the last-gen version retailing for $59.99, while the next-gen version will be a bit more expensive at $69.99. It was also confirmed that MLB The Show 21 has cross-play support, along with cross-progression.

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What this means is that someone could pick up MLB The Show 21 for PlayStation and play with their friends on Xbox, and not only that, but have their progress carry over to Xbox if they so desired (and vice versa). MLB The Show 21's cross-play support is huge, as it means that the game's potential playerbase will be significantly larger than it was when the game was only available for PlayStation consoles.

In the grand scheme of things, the MLB The Show 21 announcement was relatively light on details, so fans can't be sure yet how the new game will take advantage of next-generation hardware. However, it seems as though they won't have to wait all that much longer to find out more. PlayStation has confirmed that new MLB The Show 21 features will be confirmed with special presentations called Feature Premieres. The first MLB The Show 21 Feature Premiere will be released on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Live at some point in March.

While MLB The Show 21 fans will have to wait until March to learn more about the game's features, more news on the game is actually coming later this week. In its announcement, Sony confirmed that MLB The Show 21 will have a Collector's Edition, which it teased will include both current-gen and next-gen access. More details on what the MLB The Show 21 Collector's Edition will entail will be announced on Wednesday, February 3.

For many fans, it may be strange to see a game with the PlayStation Studios logo on an Xbox box, but don't expect it to be the start of a new trend. There are special licensing circumstances surrounding MLB The Show 21 that makes it a unique case, so fans shouldn't expect other PlayStation exclusive games to make the jump to Xbox anytime soon.

MLB The Show 21 is launching April 20 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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Source: PlayStation Blog