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MLB The Show 25's absence from Game Pass may push the game's fall​

MLB The Show 25 won't launch on Game Pass this year
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by Rafly Gilang
published on January 29, 2025
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Key notes

• Sony said that it won’t launch MLB The Show 25 on subscription services this year, including Game Pass.
• That’s the first MLB The Show title to skip the subscription service since its first series.
• Analysts now predict that the game’s sales and engagement rates may be taking a hit due to this.

It’s been a routine that MLB The Show would arrive on day one of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass every year. But now, it seems like Sony is taking another alternative for this year’s MLB The Show 25.

The Japanese gaming giant sayswhile announcing this year’s cover stars, “The game will not be on platform subscription services in 2025.” That also includes Sony’s own PlayStation Plus services.
That’s the first time since the series’ Xbox debut in 2021 that it won’t be included on the subscription service. The game will still be available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, with early access for Digital Deluxe Edition buyers starting on March 14.
Mat Piscatella, a researcher over at Circana, predicts a big plummetting in player numbers of MLB The Show 25 on Xbox Series consoles. The previous game, The Show 24, was the 14th best-selling game of 2024 and had a higher engagement rate on the Xbox Series by 8% compared to PS5’s 3%, so it won’t be surprising that the game is taking a hit.

“This is likely to result in a significant dip in players on Xbox Series, as the title has been released day 1 on Game Pass for several years,” Piscatella says.
Xbox Game Pass day-one releases actually contributed so much to the gaming industry’s economy.
Microsoft, which now owns Call of Duty publisher Activision, has reportedly made almost $500 millionin gaming revenues in December 2024. It was mostly driven by Black Ops 6 sales, which arrived in October on day one on Game Pass, although other titles like the new Indiana Jones also made the cut.

MLB The Show 25's absence from Game Pass may push the game's fall

Sony skips Xbox Game Pass for this year's MLB The Show 25 game, but it may become a boomerang that impacts the game's sales.

mspoweruser.com

The REAL reason Hulst was fired was because he couldn't secure a Game Pass deal for MLB 25

 

[SEGAvangelist]

The REAL reason Hulst was fired was because he couldn't secure a Game Pass deal for MLB 25

Phil will pay for his crimes!

Spoiler

I only play it for a few hours on Game Pass each new game.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

PlayStation is absorbing Xbox. Now Xbox relies on them for revenue, and they don’t get a game day 1. Eventually PlayStation will take Xbox’s games off day 1 GamePass.

 

[joeygreco1985]

The game doesnt change enough year over year to pay full price for.

 

[Humdinger]

I thought that putting a game on GP generally led to a decrease in sales - Dring said by an average of 80%. So why would taking it off GP do the same thing (decrease sales)? Does this have something to do with the franchise itself?

 

[adamsapple]

The game doesnt change enough year over year to pay full price for.

That can be said about most sports games, but stuff like EA FC (Fifa) still sells like it's the end of the world.

-

That being said, I can see the point the article is making, half or more of the MLB games player-base is Game Pass users, which can translate to MTX money, that's not gonna be there this year, let alone the massive last-gen install base.

• MLB® The Show™ 21 from San Diego Studio is the fastest-selling title in franchise history with more than 2 million copies* sold across all platforms. The game has reached more than 4 million players since releasing on April 16, 2021

PlayStation®5 Surpasses 10 Million Units Sold, Remains the Fastest Selling Console in Sony Interactive Entertainment History

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 28, 2021 – Sony Interactive Entertainment announced today that its newest generation game console, PlayStation®5 (PS5™), has sold through more than 10 million units* globally since first launching on November 12, 2020. PS5 is the fastest-selling console in the company’s...

sonyinteractive.com

 

[hououinkyouma00]

That can be said about most sports games, but stuff like EA FC (Fifa) still sells like it's the end of the world.

-

That being said, I can see the point the article is making, half or more of the MLB games player-base is Game Pass users, which can translate to MTX money, that's not gonna be there this year, let alone the massive last-gen install base.

PlayStation®5 Surpasses 10 Million Units Sold, Remains the Fastest Selling Console in Sony Interactive Entertainment History

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 28, 2021 – Sony Interactive Entertainment announced today that its newest generation game console, PlayStation®5 (PS5™), has sold through more than 10 million units* globally since first launching on November 12, 2020. PS5 is the fastest-selling console in the company’s...

sonyinteractive.com

How many of them actually play the game, and didn't just boot it once because it was "free"?

People that actually play your game are more important than people that dip their toe in for 30 minutes and uninstall. The people that actually play it buy it.

 

[adamsapple]

How many of them actually play the game, and didn't just boot it once because it was "free"?

No idea, if you have stats on that, please do share.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Thats crazy that there was over double the players on Xbox vs PS. Its going to be crazy to see how the split is now. I bet it will go to like 3% PS and 1% xbox or less.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

No idea, if you have stats on that, please do share.

I don't but I'm sure Microsoft and Sony do and that might be the reasoning for not doing it again this year.

 

[Topher]

I'm guessing this was always going to be a temporary deal to get people on Xbox to play the game and then make them eventually buy it. Either that or the revenue from Game Pass isn't enough to warrant continuing on the subscription.

Thats crazy that there was over double the players on Xbox vs PS.

That is "engagement rate". Not the number of players.

 

[Aguero9320]

I bought a Vita to play this game many moons ago. I didn't even load last year's Game Pass version - beyond stagnant. Sports games need a shakeup - they used to be among the best...

 

[adamsapple]

I don't but I'm sure Microsoft and Sony do and that might be the reasoning for not doing it again this year.

Could be a million things, maybe it was a 4 year deal when they signed, or Sony has taken publishing duties in-house this time.

There's no concrete info, but for a reference sample size, 55% of people registered on TrueAchievements have played at least 24 games in the game, way the fuck more than anyone who just dipped in and uninstalled after the splash screen would.

 

[GrayDock]

Afaik Sony wasn't responsible for the gamepass deal, it was the MLB advanced media. Maybe asking them?

 

[tTHANOSs]

The game had been exclusive to PlayStation console for years. Xbox aint gonna make or break it. These nonsense articles are great for a laugh.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I’m surprised that Sony still wants to make MLB games at this point.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Poor bastards.

 

[adamsapple]

I’m surprised that Sony still wants to make MLB games at this point.

Likely a case where they need to keep making them if they want to retain the rights, like the Spider Man movies, if there's a pre-determined cooldown period between movies, Sony loses the rights.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I’m surprised that Sony still wants to make MLB games at this point.

It makes them a lot of money. That studio is also masterclass at their craft.

 

[Zacfoldor]

It's a sports game. Makes sense that Xbox likes it more than Playstation fans. Those are the types of games Xbox owners play.

I'm not a baseball fan.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I would really love to see NPB in The Show at some point. I know it's obviously not part of the MLB but I think it would be cool. I went to a Hanshin Tigers game while I was in Japan and it reignited my interest in baseball overall.

That being said, I'm sure Konami has the exclusive rights to NPB for their Pro Yakyu Spirits series which unfortunately have no localization at all.

Could be a million things, maybe it was a 4 year deal when they signed, or Sony has taken publishing duties in-house this time.

There's no concrete info, but for a reference sample size, 55% of people registered on TrueAchievements have played at least 24 games in the game, way the fuck more than anyone who just dipped in and uninstalled after the splash screen would.

I'm not trying to say you are wrong. Only Sony knows the true reason, and maybe Microsoft. They both know the numbers though for sure.

Achievement/Trophy websites are a bad indicator of the general audience, much like places like Neogaf/Resetera/enthusiast forums in general are not representative of the general audience as in both cases only the hardcore people sign up for both.

I’m surprised that Sony still wants to make MLB games at this point.

It makes a good amount of money as far as I'm aware, it's probably cheap to develop in comparison to their other titles which means they make more for less (obviously excluding the license fees), and Sony San Diego are THE baseball dev and have been basically since they started The Show series back on the PS3.

 

[Three]

"MS power user" trying to push the idea that the game will fail without gamepass. Have they seen the Circana charts or what?

 

[DeepEnigma]

"MS power user" trying to push the idea that the game will fail without gamepass. Have they seen the Circana charts or what?

The most retarded of arguments. Especially in current year.

 

[Mr Moose]

OK which one of you guys wrote this clickbait article?

 

[diffusionx]

Having the game on GamePass for Xbox users while PS owners had to pay full price was a horrible look for Sony.

 

[JaksGhost]

A game skipping Game Pass shouldn't bring this much discourse, but that service has conditioned folks to bring out the pitchforks when things decide to skip it. It's leaning towards entitlement a little.

 

[Mr Moose]

Thats crazy that there was over double the players on Xbox vs PS. Its going to be crazy to see how the split is now. I bet it will go to like 3% PS and 1% xbox or less.

It's not sales and it's not a split. Using % of active users is silly.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

A game skipping Game Pass shouldn't bring this much discourse, but that service has conditioned folks to bring out the pitchforks when things decide to skip it. It's leaning towards entitlement a little.

I've used GP on multiple occasions, but overall I feel like GP has been almost nothing but a detriment to gaming in general.

 

[Humdinger]

I thought that putting a game on GP generally led to a decrease in sales - Dring said by an average of 80%. So why would taking it off GP do the same thing (decrease sales)? Does this have something to do with the franchise itself?

That being said, I can see the point the article is making, half or more of the MLB games player-base is Game Pass users, which can translate to MTX money, that's not gonna be there this year, let alone the massive last-gen install base.

Oh, maybe that's the answer? Maybe they're not talking about decreased sales per se, but about decreased revenue - a large portion of which might come from MTXs over GP.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Looks like I missread the data, apologies squad!

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Readers help support MSpoweruser. We may get a commission if you buy through our links.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Thats crazy that there was over double the players on Xbox vs PS. Its going to be crazy to see how the split is now. I bet it will go to like 3% PS and 1% xbox or less.

double of players on Xbox actual sales on Play Station. Nothing of value was lost.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Sony doesn’t care about users that don’t pay for their games

They are fine not being on GP but berating more revenue on less users

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

It might take a sales hit by skipping last gen consoles. It will take an engagement hit by skipping GamePass. Also a loss on MTX.

Overall we aren’t talking much sales though. These games rely on MTX for monetization, they don’t sell as much as other sports titles. There’s a reason no one else makes MLB games anymore.

 

[Topher]

It might take a sales hit by skipping last gen consoles. It will take an engagement hit by skipping GamePass. Also a loss on MTX.

Overall we aren’t talking much sales though. These games rely on MTX for monetization, they don’t sell as much as other sports titles. There’s a reason no one else makes MLB games anymore.

Makes enough money for Sony to have a studio dedicated to developing the game for almost 20 years. And not just anyone can make a MLB game. Same for NFL, NHL, etc.

 

[Three]

That being said, I can see the point the article is making, half or more of the MLB games player-base is Game Pass users, which can translate to MTX money, that's not gonna be there this year, let alone the massive last-gen install base.

And MSPowerUser is doing this based on what? There is no indication that the mtx the game would make from gamepass users is significant or even outweighs the lost sales of the game. Those who are into the game enough to buy mtx previously are likely to be interested in the new game too.

If the last gen install base or mtx from gamepass were significant then they would have continued to launch a last gen version, and on gamepass. It likely is insignificant.

 

[adamsapple]

If the last gen install base or mtx from gamepass were significant then they would have continued to launch a last gen version, and on gamepass. It likely is insignificant.

Depends on whose publishing it on Xbox and Switch. If SIE itself is publishing then they weren't gonna allow it on GP even if 90% of the player-base was there, let alone the current 50% that we know about from previous reportings.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Makes enough money for Sony to have a studio dedicated to developing the game for almost 20 years. And not just anyone can make a MLB game. Same for NFL, NHL, etc.

#14 on the 2024 sales chart for the year, I believe.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Would MSPowerUser lie?

 

[Three]

Makes enough money for Sony to have a studio dedicated to developing the game for almost 20 years. And not just anyone can make a MLB game. Same for NFL, NHL, etc.

Biggest sellers of 2024. Thing outsold Minecraft.
Xbox fans are confused in this thread.

 

[Topher]

Biggest sellers of 2024. Thing outsold Minecraft.
Xbox fans are confused in this thread.

 

[Rawbutt Jellybean]

#14 on the 2024 sales chart for the year, I believe.

That's just the US though right?

 

[Topher]

That's just the US though right?

I seriously doubt MLB is going to chart in any region other than the US.

 

[Elios83]

Biggest sellers of 2024. Thing outsold Minecraft.
Xbox fans are confused in this thread.

And when they aren't?
They aren't realizing that Gamepass is internally already considered to be a failed past strategy and the focus is to quickly become a huge multiplatform publisher making lots of revenues on PlayStation, as such they will spend less and less money to get new big third party releases day one on GP unless they raise the price of the subscription progressively.
They wanted MLB just to send the message back in 2021 that on Gamepass you could get even Sony games for free, but no one gave a fuck unfortunately for them so

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Makes enough money for Sony to have a studio dedicated to developing the game for almost 20 years. And not just anyone can make a MLB game. Same for NFL, NHL, etc.

Yep. Never said it doesn’t make enough money to warrant making it, they just don’t make the money other sports games make. They clearly make a lot off of microtransactions. The Show is a gambling MTX machine like all the other sports games around right now.

Anyone else can make an MLB game. It’s not the same as NFL, where EA has exclusive rights. I don’t think EA has an NHL exclusive license anymore, but they used to. Anyone else can make an NHL game. They don’t, for the same reason people don’t make MLB games.

There are other licensed baseball games. Or at least there were within the last couple years. Not many, because baseball games don’t sell that much.

 

[Sooner]

Thats crazy that there was over double the players on Xbox vs PS. Its going to be crazy to see how the split is now. I bet it will go to like 3% PS and 1% xbox or less.

Where is the other 96%?

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Where is the other 96%?

Switch

Kidding

 

[Sooner]

Switch

Kidding

Right... because Switch is the go-to place for sports games. Also, kidding.

 

[jroc74]

Um...This game stays a top seller. Has been before and after the Game Pass deal.

What?

Player engagement might drop....on Xbox.

 

[Topher]

Yep. Never said it doesn’t make enough money to warrant making it, they just don’t make the money other sports games make. They clearly make a lot off of microtransactions. The Show is a gambling MTX machine like all the other sports games around right now.

Anyone else can make an MLB game. It’s not the same as NFL, where EA has exclusive rights. I don’t think EA has an NHL exclusive license anymore, but they used to. Anyone else can make an NHL game. They don’t, for the same reason people don’t make MLB games.

There are other licensed baseball games. Or at least there were within the last couple years. Not many, because baseball games don’t sell that much.

Anyone can make a baseball game but not necessarily a MLB game. That has to be licensed through MLB. Doesn't matter if anyone has exclusive rights or not. It involves players just as much as the league itself. Making a game based on a professional sport isn't as simple as you are making it out to be.