MLB The Show 21is out now for the PS4 and PS5, and for the first time ever,MLB The Showis also on Xbox One and Series X/S. The game reportedly performs better on the PS5 than the Xbox Series X, but things are a bit different for last-gen consoles.
TheMLB The Showfranchise has been developed by Sony’s San Diego Studio since 2006, and as such has been exclusive to Sony platforms until this year. On February 1, it was announced that San Diego Studio would be developingMLB The Showfor the Xbox family of consoles as well. While a PlayStation-owned developer making a game for Xbox comes as a shock for many, it was later revealedthe decision was outside of Sony’s control, as it was mandated by the MLB organization.
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Eurogamer’sDigital Foundry, which specializes in-depth tech and game analyses, released a comparison of howMLB The Show 21runs on current and previous PlayStation and Xbox consoles. On PS5, gameplay runs at a mostly locked 60 FPS, whereas the Xbox Series X version is “a little less stable." In-game cutscenes are the real issue though, where the framerate on Series X can often dip nine-to-11 FPS lower than dips present on the PS5 version.
The report cites some other minor issues with the Xbox Series X version, like what looks to be a bug in how water outside the stadiums is rendered and a four-second difference in load times. On paper, these variances between the two versions ofMLB The Show 21make sense considering this is the first time San Diego Studio has developed the series for Xbox.
The last-gen systems tell a different story however, as the Xbox One X version runs on average five-to-seven FPS faster than the PS4 Pro version. Neither of the last-gen versions run at a locked 60 FPS, even when the game is running on its 1080p resolution mode. All in all,MLB The Show 21seems to look and run fine on all platforms from a gameplay standpoint, which is important givenMLB The Show 21has cross-play between all platforms.If one platform underperformed, that could have lead to unfair advantages in online cross-play.
MLB The Show 21is available now for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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