MLB The Show 25 is nearly a month away! With early access starting on March 14th and the full release coming on the 18th, it’s coming just in time for the MLB season. You can practically smell the fresh-cut grass and the overpriced hot dogs already!

This year’s edition of the game has been promised to be one of the biggest leaps in gameplay quality and feature expansion from title to title since the series’ inception. At least, that’s what San Diego Studio says.

SD Studio is so confident that this game will be a huge improvement on the 2024 edition that they’ve elected not to release it on Game Pass day one. We don’t know when, if ever, the game will make its way back to Game Pass, but we do know that it is a bold decision after years of being a Day 1 Game Pass release.

I expect the Game Pass decision to be one of two things. Either they are confident that this game is so much better than last year’s title that it will create hype and spur more sales. Or, it could be that Sony decided they don’t want to prop up one of Microsoft’s most popular features anymore and are beginning the process of pulling their games off of it. I’m an optimist, so I’m just going to hope it’s the first one.

If they are so confident that this game will revolutionize the franchise and be an incredible upgrade to last year’s fairly lackluster title, we’ll want to know what these beautiful new upgrades are.

On that front, we haven’t gotten many details, but we have the general outline of what to expect from the game.

Road To The Show: The Amateur Years

There will be more content in Road to the Show mode this year, wherein you will start “in the early years of high school” and move up to college, and then the draft before finally getting your shot in the minors.

If you are a big Road to the Show fan, this will give you more gameplay and a better chance to develop and shape your player before entering the pros. On Tuesday, February 18th, there will be a feature deep dive on this feature, as well as the rest of the RTTS mode. Another gameplay premiere will take place on Thursday, February 20th.

You’ll start in high school; we don’t know whether you’ll get to choose between a few different generic-looking high school teams or if you’ll be locked into one team. The school nickname that was featured prominently in the trailer was the “Bobcats.” You’ll get to play two to three games in high school before picking between a selection of college teams.

There are only going to be “select University teams” in the game, and you’ll get to play three to four college games before moving on to the MLB Draft.

It should look very similar to Madden’s Superstar mode a few seasons ago, where you play select moments in high school/college before going into the draft. The experience was pretty limited, but it was nice to see high school and college sports represented, and it added depth to your player arc.

I’m also curious if the players will grow into their frame, or will your player look like a 24-year-old man as a sophomore in high school?

Road To The Show: Path To 99 Progression

While there are very few details on this feature, we can only assume it is a completely revamped upgrade and progression system, hopefully with no attribute caps like previous iterations.

I would also like to see in-game performance be more significant to getting XP and upgrading your ratings, rather than buying items. After last year’s RTTS, I think that is a pretty universal request.

The Show’s website is very vague about the progression system, only saying that “you’ll have full control of your player’s development.”

This feature will also be discussed in more detail on the 18th and 20th on the MLB The Show YouTube channel. The deep dive on the 18th will also be released on TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. The gameplay premiere on the 20th will stream live on Twitch and YouTube.

Franchise: Front Office Experience 

I might be the most excited about this, although I understand it’s a niche feature that will likely be overlooked by most players. 

I’m curious to see how they execute the “Front Office Experience.” My hope is that they use the Football Manager template and just make it the MLB. It’s honestly a brilliant idea.

The MLB, more than any other league or sport, is about player development, money management (especially if you’re moneyballing it with a small market team), and drafting. I want it to be as in-depth as possible, going deep into scouting, player development, and implementing a roster.

I would also love to see the international player portal make its debut in this series, if not for normal franchise mode, then just for the front-office version. Better trade and free agency logic would be huge and is somewhat expected. I also expect we may see some stadium management options return to the game. Are we going to be able to set prices on hats and hot dogs? I hope so.

I am also going to set my expectations low, given that this is a new feature, and it very well could be the normal franchise mode without any of the gameplay, like a faster simulator to create a dynasty in one evening or watch a player’s career arc begin and end in one sitting.

This feature will be highlighted during the Franchise deep dive on February 25th on all of The Show’s social media platforms. And you better believe that I will be there watching and hoping that it’s good, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up… maybe I’m not an optimist after all.

Diamond Dynasty

There will be no more sets or seasons for Diamond Dynasty. The Show is trying to revamp and revitalize the mode that has been so successful for its competitors, like Madden, FIFA/EA FC, and NBA 2K. Diamond Dynasty hasn’t been as much of a hit as its counterparts, so it’s getting a bit of a makeover.

There’ll be two new game modes within Diamond Dynasty: Diamond Quest and Weekend Classic.

Weekend Classic will be the “highly competitive multiplayer mode” only for the most experienced players. It will offer the best rewards in the game and be the place to play if you’re an elite gamer (I am not).

Of course, Diamond Dynasty is always releasing more stuff, so I’m sure that’s not all for the game mode, but it’s all that’s been announced.

We’ll get more info during the deep dive on Tuesday, March 4th, and in the premiere on Thursday, March 6th.

Diamond Quest might be more up my alley. It’s a board game-style journey that uses risk-reward opportunities to create a unique and suspenseful experience.

Gameplay Changes

As usual, MLB The Show will adjust the gameplay, hoping to make it feel more “dynamic,” “authentic,” and whatever other buzzwords they can think of. 

Hundreds of new animations are expected, with a focus on big defensive plays like robbing home runs, diving catches, hotshot catches, and quick tags on the base path.

We will be getting a first-person camera, presumably for RTTS and player lock in Franchise mode. I think it will be a cool novelty for a few days, but it will get tiring and disorienting after a while, and we’ll all switch back to third-person. There will also be a bunch more impact play opportunities and quick-time events in player lock mode.

For all you extreme gamers, there is going to be a new G.O.A.T difficulty setting that will be the hardest difficulty ever. I’m sure it will infuriate every player who tries it, but hey, some people like that stuff; I’m not here to judge.

We’ll also get “ambush hitting,” giving players “a more realistic plan of attack at the plate.” Who knows what that means, but we’ll learn more on Tuesday, February 11th, during the gameplay deep dive and on Thursday, February 13th, during the premiere of the new gameplay mechanics.

Storylines: Negro Leagues Season 3

Admittedly, I don’t play this game mode regularly. But as a history fan, I really should get into it. 

The mode has been narrated by Negro League Hall of Fame president Bob Kendrick, and he is set to return for Season 3.

This season promises to tell the stories of “some of the greatest players you’ve likely never heard of.”