A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to see platform holders putting their first-party games on other consoles, but that’s all changed here in 2021 with Microsoft leading the charge. Not only has Microsoft been maintaining Minecraft on platforms outside of Windows and Xbox ever since buying up Mojang, but it has also brought a couple of exclusive titles to Nintendo Switch – namely, Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Sony isn’t a stranger to bringing its first-party games to other platforms either, as last year it brought Horizon Zero Dawn to PC. While Sony said that it wasn’t necessarily going to make a habit of bringing its first-party games over to other platforms, it isn’t quite done doing so just yet, confirming today that MLB The Show 21 will be available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in addition to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
This will mark the first time a PlayStation Studios game has launched on an Xbox console, and from the sounds of Sony’s announcement today, this arrangement has something to do with a contract expansion between Sony, the MLB, and MLB players. Regardless of the reason, MLB The Show is a sports series that seems to have quite the fan following, so Xbox owners will probably be happy to hear it’s coming to their platform of choice nonetheless (assuming those Xbox owners are, of course, MLB fans as well).
MLB The Show 21 will also feature cross-platform play and progression, and it seems that functionality will be cross-generation as well. So, those of you playing on Xbox will be able to play with friends who are on PlayStation and vice versa. Plus, if you’re playing on a last-gen console like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, it sounds like you’ll be able to keep your progress if you upgrade to a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
In other news, today Sony revealed that Fernando “El Nino” Tatis Jr. will be the cover athlete for MLB The Show 21. We also got confirmation that the game will be launching on April 20th, 2021 with a starting price of $60 for last-gen consoles and $70 on next-gen consoles. Sony will be hosting six different Feature Premieres during which it’ll show off new features and updates in MLB The Show 21, with the first of those Feature Premieres happening in March. We’ll let you know when more information is shared, so stay tuned.
Keyword: A PlayStation Studios game is coming to Xbox for the first time ever this year