We’re a few weeks away from 2023, which will bring excitement in all forms. In this realm, it means we’ll be closer to the next installment of MLB The Show. Looking ahead to the next iteration might seem a bit silly to some, but MLB The Show 22 content seems to be winding down and this has led to many of us looking past whatever remaining time there is with ‘22 to simply look forward to what’s next. There have also been a couple minor developments that have taken place that could possibly hint at MLB The Show 23 releasing earlier than ’22 did.
Let’s talk about it.
When Will MLB The Show 23 Release?
Timeline
MLB The Show 22 launched on April 5, 2022 with its early access opening up on April 1 for those that paid a little extra. This was an earlier release than The Show 21 as last year’s version released on April 20, 2021 with early access opening on April 16. Going back to Javier Baez’s reign as cover athlete, MLB The Show 20 hit shelves on March 17 with early access coming on March 13. Finally, if we go back to ‘18 and ‘19‘s respective release dates, these versions came out at virtually the same time on March 27 and March 26 respectively.
Outlier I
The last couple years have been impacted by some powerful anomalies. MLB The Show 21 was the first year of multi-platform release, releasing on Xbox platforms in a franchise-altering move. It was also the first year that The Show was playable on the newest generation of consoles with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s reasonable to think that there was some extra development time needed to bring the game to the newest generation of technology. The fact that the game was debuting on an entirely new system might have necessitated some extra time as well.
We also have to remember that the world was still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies around the world began working remotely, with possible logistic hurdles popping up along the way.
Mix that all together and you end up with the latest release date The Show has had since 2018. It’s also worth noting that last year’s MVP Edition was dubbed The Jackie Robinson Edition. Featuring Jackie Robinson on the cover, this edition was part of early access and available the day after Jackie Robinson Day is celebrated across MLB.
Outlier II
When we look at MLB The Show 22’s factors, the obvious one is the addition of Nintendo Switch to the multi-platform party. The Switch notoriously falls quite short of the PS5 and Xbox Series X in terms of hardware so developing for a “lesser” console probably required that extra bit of time. Even then, SDS dropping the game in early April is essentially in the late March timeframe that we’ve seen before.
The Greatest Generation
Another element worth exploring is the length of time SDS developed for the previous generation. If we go back several years, the PlayStation 4 released in November of 2013. The final version of The Show to be released on that generation of console was MLB The Show 16. For the next 4 years, The Show was exclusively available on PlayStation 4.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X released in November of 2020. If SDS carved out a similar path, theoretically that means that MLB The Show 23 could be the final year we see the game on PS4. And we do know that the game will release on PS4 thanks to the game being officially rated in Brazil with PS4 as a featured console.
Content Cycle
MLB The Show’s Diamond Dynasty content season officially wraps up with the Forever Program each year. On December 1, that program officially dropped, which marked the end of new content outside of a handful of Event rewards that trickled out after. In terms of Featured Programs and gobs of new content, this is it. Since we’re strolling down memory lane to help us look into the future, how does that compare to last year’s Forever Program? Well, we got the final program a full month earlier than we did last year. MLB The Show 21’s Forever Program launched on January 7 of this year. That’s kind of wild to think about, right?
MLB The Show 21 didn’t finish its content cycle until this year. Whereas this year’s version has already signed off. We got the end of two content cycles in the same year.
This doesn’t seem too crazy when you realize that The Show 20 wrapped up in November(!), but remember that the pandemic was still in full swing at that point and probably not a good reference point for this particular subject. MLB The Show 19 wrapped up at the very end of December of that year so perhaps we were just spoiled by ‘21 dropping content all the way up until January of this year. But still, having two content cycles come to a halt in the same calendar year hits different.
MLB The Show 23
It’s a safe assumption that MLB The Show 23 will be announced in late January or early February. That’s the timeline for official announcements the last couple years. But the real question is, when will the game actually come out?
Based off the operational history of the franchise, March has traditionally been the month that brought us the newest iteration. The last couple years have brought some challenges that probably had a hand in the game being released a bit later than usual. My bold, way-too-early-but-why-not prediction is that we see MLB The Show 23 in mid-March. I’ll go one step further and predict a March 10 early access date, with March 14, 2023 being the full release.
MLB The Show 22 featured a lack of significant gameplay tweaks, a mostly busted co-op mode that never gained a promised reward path, and several other bugs/gameplay issues that made for a lackluster experience. Was SDS’ silence throughout the year a sign of indifference with the product? Or perhaps was it a sign that the team was already full steam ahead on ‘23 with significant improvements and an earlier release date?
Only time will tell, but we’ll soon be entering the pre-release hype, and I’m more than happy to get the party started.
Related: Will MLB The Show 23 be available on PC? – Gamepur
