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WHAT'S NEW?! Gameplay Updates in MLB The Show 26
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- Published on Mar 15, 2026
- Pre-Order Now: mlbthe.show/qbOR
Learn More: mlbthe.show/Npz0
Leading off with the gameplay updates coming to MLB The Show 26, you’ll see how we
stepped up our game to give you the most immersive on-field experience yet.
New in ‘26:
All New ABS System
Real MLB Pitch Usage Rates
Bear Down Pitching
Big Zone Hitting
New Zone Hitting Options and Expanded Pitch History
New Defensive Attributes
Hundreds of New Fielding Animations
Early Access starts March 13th, 2026
Available March 17th, 2026
Get 10% off your Digital Deluxe Edition pre-order if you’ve bought any digital version of MLB The Show since ‘21.**
*Internet connection required.
**Discount reflected in cart. Must be signed into your account. Only applies to same platform purchases. For Nintendo Switch, since MLB® The Show™ 22. 
Gaming
If WBC is only in DD, you guys fumbled the best thing you could’ve done this year
Yes I agree and it will determine if I buy it this year or not. Diamond Dynasty is hurting this game just like all the terrible monetized modes in sports games. Quit spending money on them and they'll innovate like they used too.
“The gamemode that makes MLB the Show able to exist is hurting the game”
Should’ve made a wbc mode where you can play the tournament with a team
Yeah, that would be extremely disappointing.
It's not like the WBC has never been featured in the game before. It was a big part of the launch of 2023. However, it was primarily the same format as any other program where you grind for cards/jerseys which was fine for a trial run, but they need to expand on that.
@notowen__8667Diamond Dynasty definitely keeps the lights on, but you can only do so much with the WBC within DD.
It needs its own separate mode where you can run tournaments and use those teams. That's kind of the purpose of the entire concept.
How are we supposed to get excited about catcher animations when then don’t even frame? The catchers don’t catch right like what😂
Hoped for that as well
But we‘re getting somewhere at least
They're not supposed to frame in a video game. The whole point is for calls to be accurate because we deal with enough bs on a console
@SPONGEEZ6 Even if they didn’t effect the call it would look 10x better than just casually catching 100 and not moving an inch. Even low off speeds would look better if the catcher pulls it up more
I'll just stick with The Show '25 and save myself the trouble 😆
Thats what im saying bro! And there are so many other small details like that, that the game is missing that would make it 10× bttr. But its like these devs have not watched a baseball game ever.
3:26 im sorry, he hit that how hard?
don’t worry it’ll still be a perfect perfect out come launch
Looked like the animation skipped some frames, or there is a small in the footage.
@patrickspence9440he’s talking about the 123 Exit Velo
@yourdad1367ah ok. Hadn't spotted that.
Probably used console commands, even people getting paid to play the game want to be done with it as quick as possible when the gameplay is indistinguishable from a decade ago
FIX THE FREEZE OFFS
If I could like this 1,000,000 times I would please fix freeze offs especially in co op
You are a prime example of why this game will never improve . Over under $5k in terms of the total amount you plan to spend on different colored versions of the same digital trading cards ? 🥀🤡
@lovedavantlamour301brother some people actually grind. This isn’t a game like madden or 2K where you have to pay to play. Weekend classic and other options keep MLB very generous with the stubs loser
I really hope they fixed the regression system
I feel like this is something that could easily be patched…there has to be a reason they can’t crack this
They said that was their main focus this year for offline gaming
if they didn't mention it in the trailer I doubt they did it, seems like they didn't do much of anything tbh
@giofio7298 aside from the challenge system , seems like a few more crappy gimmicks with zone hitting and pitching . Overall , very underwhelming. These guys can't do anything right . They say they listen to the community yet it seems like any new changes they treat like their own pet project
I play rtts on all-star.
Zone with buttons.
My guy is 41 years old and I've never regressed.
Kind of disappointed
Add pants above the knees & hand guards like real life has
yeah man let's ask for this in a gameplay update. what's wrong with y'all
@launchbase4944the gameplay is honestly clean, cosmetically & visuals are outdated these are lil things that all make it true to real life baseball... Go play backyard baseball if u want but i want a new thing to draw it closer to real life
EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID!! ❤
@makaroni3321🤝
They don’t care about adding accessories or customization unfortunately only that gambling cards game
Improve the graphics. You’re no longer supporting the PS4. The lack of effort is insulting.
No longer on PS4, but they're on Switch. That's the problem. They should have this version for Switch/Xbox Series S and then a good version with better graphics for PS5/PS5 Pro/Series X.
@BigMcFlipsthis. This 100%. I don't think people realised how Xbox and Nintendos NEED to have other games have ruined this generation. The Series S is equivalent to like a GTX1650. Absolute dog shit.
Good luck making decent graphics for a GPU that could barely do 1080p.
4:10 talks about new animations; 500+ to be exact…but shows 2 of the same ones back to back.
My exact thoughts. I didn’t see a single new animation
And the guys fingers glitch through the glove 😭
There’s ZERO shot the out in 30 let alone 500.
SOS MLB The Show 18 8.0
Exactly
Not even. I just watched a RUclips video called "progression of MLB The Show" and the graphics are basically recycled since 2010.
For the community increase graphics, it’d also be cool to play as retro teams from the early 2000s to early 1900s with babe and Lou .. feeling more immersive and as if you’re actually there. Seeing ichiro and Felix or Barry bonds .. recreating Barry’s HOF moments or the playoff moments with so many iconic teams
Ichiro Suzuki does not have a card in the game due to his exclusive licensing deal with Konami. Barry Bonds has historically not been in MLB The Show because he withdrew from the MLBPA licensing agreement in 2003 to control his own, often higher-demanded, likeness rights.
@OtownRaiders Then pay him. Not hard. Try to negotiate with him.
Then you should let SDS know to get right on that
I actually like the new scorebug
Sake
In the year 2026 you should be able to choose between any scorebug from any MLB the show ever..
@RickRanger711 wait, really? Tell me this is real and 100% not fake
@BrodyL-x2ohe is being sarcastic dude…
@BrodyL-x2odude I wrote that like it should be a thing by now but isn't, because people who make yearly sports games suck.
No catcher framing? No cat/mouse w/ the pitch clock? There’s such a dynamic missing in just those two elements. The *untouched* visuals are maddening, lack of detail for the sport is insane.
this is the first time since the show 07 that i begin to question whether i buy this game or not, the graphic are stucked in the ps4 era, they need and upgrade urgent
People that keep mirroring this message must want real life players on the field while playing a video game. These are the same comments that people that play MMOs say. Y’all should get together and show them how it’s done
MLB 2018 copy, MLB 2026 paste.
@Eduardo-i4m3q then get all the people together saying this and put out a game with up to date graphics
@OtownRaidersbro be quite you make no sense. Do you not see how other games look? This game has looked damn near the same every year for years. It’s not a big ask to ask for better graphics. We pay all this money for new consoles every 7 years or so and this looks pretty damn close to last generation consoles. This game has felt the same for years I’ve played every game since 06 and it’s felt the same since 16 or 17. Every year a new game comes out you pay all this money once again. You should want to see improvement every year and that’s just not the case anymore with MLB. You say you wanna see him do better that’s not his job it’s the Developers who get paid to make the games job to do better.
@B@Bryceeechii17t’s a sports game, not much else they can do but tweak little things here or there. Not much that can change that will make the game be different. It will continue to feel the same for the next 20-30 years as long as the game of baseball stays the same. If we are referring to non realistic games sure, like Tomb Raider or Cyberpunk, but those are different genres
So u guys honestly just could have updated the game
What ?
player animations are still not very smooth. the ball still looks like it's moving in slow motion
Half of the stuff you called new isn’t new. You could always lock your pci to certain spots and adjust pci sensitivity. HOW IS IT NEW
Well the pci sensitivity u couldn’t adjust that in game that part is new
Not for the entire AB. after that pitch it would revert.
@itztimgu can always put it back there also there’s a setting where u can just have ur anchor wherever u want it against LHP or RHP
Assuming ABS means nothing when you choose "perfect strikezone" option.
True but this is a great reason to not choose perfect strike zone. Will feel way more realistic without feeling artificially unfair.
ABS will be only in offline right?
@ImKuerti I don't play online. But I'd assume it follows the same rules as other challenges. So if you can challenge a call at first online, then you can probably use ABS online. If you can't, then ABS will probably be offline only
Can you for once give us new running and sliding animations.....fucking the same for over 15 years
😂🤣😅🤣😂😂🤣😅😂
THIS!!! Also add more realistic swing animations especially follow throughs I swear there's only like 5
@Aez_Boogiethey’re sadly turning into madden
@kaboomkieboom8777 This is certainly the worst innovation drought I have ever seen for a sports game. Madden had some really, really bad years. With MLB The Show now, it's absolutely comical how similar the last 6 games have been. Anyone who buys this game still can kick rocks. We should be flooding the MLB The Show Submit Request page with disgust.
Spitting image of 25 The Show, argue w/ a wall... Laziest Studio in the game
You can always skip this year…😂
then skip it
@KingJamal2354they gonna have the licensing next year too bro, there's only one realistic baseball sim for us so unfortunately I always buy... But I'll also keep it real w/ the same bs every year, it's tiring
@launchbase4944 i like playing baseball simulation, so I won't... But will also tell the truth & keep it real on the game I've been supporting for over a decade... It's tiring watching the minor effort put into this game it's laughable & check screen shots from 15 The Show if you don't believe me
As bad as SDS is, EA is still way worse lol
UPDATE THE GRAPHICS
Can’t. They still support the switch 1
I mean, they udated them in 25. You aren't gonna get some huge overhaul in one year.
@paradiseracer2437brother compared to other sports games mlb still look like a ps4 games stop coping. The game has literally looked the same for 6 years
@badonjlack3378 I just disagree. Yeah it doesn't look as good as EA (which is like, I don't know, 50x bigger and richer than SDS) but its not like it looks terrible. Also, who cares? I'd much rather have better gameplay, than better graphics. Franchise is a shell of what it should be, all they care about is DD and RTTS. Not to mention they literally have not changed march to october in years. So much so that I literally forgot it was a mode at all.
@parad@paradiseracer2437thatsmy point dude obviously graphics isn’t everything but it goes to show that we are literally getting the same game year after year. True me bro I’ve played baseball my whole life and love the sport dearly. I’ve bought every game for 10 years and I’m sick of it. They still haven’t even brought back online franchise mode. All they care about is DD they just now added new shit to career mode and that that was a year ago. So again obviously graphics aren’t everything but when you game looks like the same game from 7 years ago it’s start to become a problem. I’m sorry that you think people saying make the graphics better is a problem but it’s the fact that the graphics aren’t up to par and all the other modes aren’t lack luster. You telling without 7 years SDS couldn’t have made leap and bounds in graphics bc ea is 50x bigger? Cmon now man
Stop lying. You did not add 500 new animations. Every year you say the same shit. A gazillion animations... Yet the players still look and move like animatronics.
I think that demonstrates how out of date this is. Polishing the turd with 500 animations and it still looks like a turd.
Please improve franchise mode
🤣😅😂
Franchise is desperately behind the other modes and it sucks because its basically all I play. Need a complete overhaul. The FA system sucks, the draft sucks, trades suck, development and regression suck. Its insane
So what you’re telling me is this could’ve all been patched into 25?
Yea I'll just stick with '25
@Jay-jb2vryep
I think that you can use the word overhaul or revamped system all you want, but the game is exactly the same in your experience playing it. You can add all the uniforms you want, all the generic schools you want, this the exact same experience on the field, I have played this game from its inception, and there is zero innovation here. And not only could this have been a patch update, it really wouldn’t be that significant as a tweak update. The college expansion is not a true expansion. It’s just different uniforms. lol. Again I loved this game, but this is lazy and an insult to sell this as a new overhauled game. The franchise update is a joke. And the world baseball league is only playable in one mode. A mode that is about virtual money. I am so turned off, that since it came out, every year, I bought the game simply as a tradition. Not this year. Not at all. And no one should until you get true innovation. This game has the base. The physics. So truly build on that. Skill levels and attributes are tweaks. The new trading hub is the franchise update? Become a pro has a hall of fame cut scene of horrific graphics? 2k did this all with the nba game a decade ago and did it better! Lol. Now all the triple A sports games are stale and about profits only. Funny how cyberpunk 2077 went the opposite way. From broken to awesome and a new business model. Pride in their craft. The money will come if you do things right. That is it. So are you asking me could it MLB 26 be a patch update? Yeah I think so, in my best John Wick voice impression.
Bingo
They don’t do patches lol, cmon you think SDS is a good developer or something?
0:28 Adding MLB's new rules is not a gameplay change. That is simulating the sport you are supposed to be simulating. That is you doing your job, not a back of the box feature.
Next year- "we've added player collisions!"
😂
No way they’re talking about catcher animations again lol
Got banned from the live stream for telling them the game looks like ass. Stop selling the same game for $70. This shit could have been an update to any of the last 10 games. Stop scamming people, selling a roster update and a new menu for $70 every year.
Also new menu settings or UI options are NOT new features. Y'all are lazy af.
Tell it like it is my guy💯
just say you cannot afford the game
This is why sports games shouldn’t release every single year
At the age of 53 I have played sports games of all kinds on systems gonna back to an Atari 2600 lol. So I used to lOVE mlb the show. I used to love madden. Now, every year madden adds their “all new physics system ! With new animations!!’ Instead of MLB being innovative, they have lowered the bar to match everyone. Now their marketing is “our all new overhauled ratings system for accuracy with over 500 animations!! Oh and the catcher can be in one knee lol. All I see is the exact same cut scenes on the field for a decade now. Exactly the same dugout celebrations or reactions for example and that is in the trailer ! Meaning the best they can show about the show is recycled looks. This took a full year to program? And why do the players look like they are cartoon characters? Where is a true owner mode in franchise? Small market big market? Actual fun stuff like building a franchise like an owner does in real life. Team chemistry? Game post and pre game interviews with reactions that mean something ? Can we have fans that chant at games? Interact ? Maybe fines if you keep hitting batters as a pitcher but maybe it increases team chemistry if you do it once to protect your batter getting hit? Something. The game has a great foundation but it is so sterile. To be a video game that is more boring than real baseball can be at times is quite the achievement. Put that in your trailer. With AI you can have all kinds of broadcasting voices that update what they say daily!!! Do things that I would pay 150 dollars for. One complete amazing game. No micro transactions no boring gameplay- I actually like to play the whole franchise season. No simulation. Now I may be in the minority. But playing a game after work, if innovative would bring people into franchise mode not gimmicks like diamond dynasty. Or we added more college teams. All you are doing is putting your cartoon looking baseball players in different uniforms. But it’s the exact same game lol. Who cares what college I go to? Give each school a purpose. A reason. This release is not even worthy of a big patch update to be honest. And your graphics are going backwards lol. Oh but Judge is wearing a USA uniform! Omg did Stacey Malibu get a new hat too? lol.
This is exactly how I feel. I play every single game of a franchise season too. There’s literally is almost zero reason for me to get this new updated game. They should’ve just updated the current version.
They've done a copy paste for 10 years at least and it honestly made me not want to buy the game. We are 5 years into PS5 and the game still looks the same as it did on a PS4. Franchise hasn't had any major updates and RTTS added 15 college teams. It's time for a major overhaul....not the same stuff year after year with updated rosters.
Absolutely agree........im 53 as well, is it ok for us to play video games still????😂😂😂
Barry bonds come on man , let go of the past !
they don't have his rights
Where are collisions and mound charging?
They're giving us the content of a free update for $70.
Don't need to say literally
Crowd still doesn’t react to anything lol
i genuinely believe diamond dynasty killed this franchise and made sony / sds irredeemably greedy
Them modes is what makes them the most amount of money unfortunately at least it not madden level bad but the copy paste is pretty much the same except they at least add a few features that honestly could just be an update to the game imo at this point just make 1 game & have it be a live service with a yearly restart to diamond dynasty & have the 1 big roster update with adding returning or new legends to the game cause it really hasn’t changed that much in a very long time
Why is judge batting stance wrong
It's literally the same frickin game from last year
Don't need to say literally
1:16 you can’t trick us. That’s already in the game. That’s quite literally pitch confidence.
That depended on how the user performed with it in game, this is now based on the pitchers real life usage
Same Graphics every year yo 😖
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Can yall increase the graphics… it’s been 10 years and they still look the same.
i know. It's seriously outdated. Until then, i recommended pro baseball spirits. It's a game for Japanese baseball and their league.
Hahhahahahahah
Nope we can’t have that. The fanboys said it’s because the dev team only has a 8 month turnaround time from one year to the next. I would be happy to see them skip a year if it meant updating these garbage graphics.
Whats the diff between big ball hitting and guess pitch? Arent you just renaming?
Both of the "New Hititng Styles" seems like they are remakes of styles already in the game. Big zone is just a remake of directional, and fixed just seems like PCI anchor
it will help people who slam bc they can let go of the stick and the pci will stay there
LMAO! The same 6 pairs of shoes for the 15th straight year!
Yall literally used the same character models. I cant wait to see Carlos Mendoza look like a cross between a worm and a used car salesman
Mark Vientos is the funniest player model, please tell me that's the same, it looks absolutely nothing like him.
@justinmolinari5338 Guarantee it'll be the same xD SMS doesn't give two shits lmao.. if i was Vientos I'd be PIIISSSEED
The Bigs had Bear Down Pitching, remember that?
Is it just me who saw no key difference between this and last year’s game??
I’ll ask you the same thing every other person asks about sports games. What should they do? Not much any company can do, It’s a sports game. Should they put rocket packs on their back and make them play in space? Put the players in race cars? It’s going to continue to look the same, because it is a sports game
I love the new pci options for zone hitting, big zone hitting is a mistake it is basically guess pitch 2.0, but being able to set your pci location and being able to leave it there is a huge win
as somebody who switched to ps4 back when it released mainly for the show, genuinely what did you guys do this year? this is brutal
it’d be cool if rain delays were more realistic soggy field after rain ect.
It's time to focus on graphics. Please make that the main focus of next year's game. This looks the same as 2017... At the very least put in a new lighting engine like 2k did because the PS3 graphics are extremely outdated and there's really no excuse for the game to look like this.
When you forget to do your hw saying you just say “we overhauled the game!!!”
Aaron judge finishes off his swing with 1 hand not 2
They say they added 500 animations but we can’t get the cover athlete to have the correct one handed follow through. Disappointing
Can’t stand that swooping two handed follow through where they twist their hips. Like who in MLB or in baseball for that matter swings like that. How can the programmers look at that and say, yup spot on just like real life
Heard new animations hella times, other than the 1 leg down catcher I didn’t see any new animations 😂
Well one thing I noticed is that the jersey sleeves were moving I don't think I noticed any jersey movement in the previous ones, the jerseys just looked like they were glued to them no movement at all
Wooptie doo
Bruh I’ll be 40 years old before they upgrade the engine for this game🤦🏾♂️ I’m 27😒
More like 60 at this rate unfortunately 😂
They better add back the feature to carry over saved RTTS player
I miss that but haven’t seen that feature since when it was a PlayStation only exclusive
2:57 this is literally guess pitching.. which has been in the game since 2010😂💩
Is this the show 15?
I love these games but it’s starting to get extremely frustrating with no new look to it. The graphics and animations need an overhaul. Other than new diamond dynasty cards each year, there really isn’t anything exciting to look forward to
Can you add every teams broadcasters please?
That will never happen unfortunately. You would have to pay each one for their rights and also time, it would never happen.
@youcreateyourownstorynot with AI
@useyourillusion6996sure as if the gaming community wants more ai in their games 😂😂
in franchise mode, I would love if we can challenge at other bases not just first base.
Indeed
And yet again all the players have fake faces in the player portraits in game so unrealistic
Do 98.7% of pitchers throw sinkers even though that's not statistically accurate IRL?
I would love to have a vintage material/Flannel uniforms for Diamond Dynasty and custom teams for Franchise similar to the stories mode. I did noticed you can have Vintage Cleats and Fielding Gloves when creating a character but there is no Vintage uniforms to have that immersion and will be amazing to add in the future 🔥. Please add them in the future!!!
Please tell me you’ve fixed RTTS players and Computer generated players not being able to throw full speed sinkers, change ups, and two seamers. It’s been nearly ten years of playing this game with a RTTS player incapable of throwing a change up that averages more than 84 miles an hour. There’s 0 reason it should be like this off line.
I could show you the trailer for mlb 18 the show right now and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference
0:19 how they still giving judge that goofy old ass animation man
4:47 Alex Carillo mention
i couldnt believe my eyes dawg 😭
Good thing I have The Show 25 and don't need to upgrade 😊
I think its time to skip this year. Nothing exciting. Same commentary.
Is urgency fixed.
We need non roster invites in franchise mode
These need to cost $30 from now on if this is all you can offer.
Has the baserunning perk bug been fixed yet? Do you remember how the bug where the baserunning perk never activated was left unfixed for an entire year?
Why does it look like a PS3 game just upscaled to 4k lol
I’m gonna poop I’ll tell you how it goes
thx bro
How was it
@Lev0821wonderful but a struggle
still better than this trailer
@JORDANLOVEISTHEGOAT Thank you JORDANLOVEISTHEGOAT, this has made my day
Add some new slide animations we've had the same 3 for years
Same graphics, gameplay and animations for a decade. What a joke..
Not enough to justify $70.
When will they realize we don't give a 💩 about analytics and update the graphics!!!!!
asking for better graphics is not unrealistic despite what these paid promoters say.
MLB The Show: We were good so now we dont have to try
3:15 literally the pci anchor.. yall mfs are sorry
At least change the graphics
One of my favorite things about PCI is immediately turning it off. That’s not the kind of experience I want.
same
Anyone else crazy like me and turn PCI off every year?
I even hit with the brodcast view cuz of bordum😅
I like that PCI change. Might be easier to only have the PCI move when I want it to.
You guys need to add two commentary team to the game. I hate to hear the same commentary team.
The sleeves on the jerseys move from wind too
1:21 Ngl the nod to that game vs the Twins when they pulled Berrios was pretty nice with the score and everything
“We make this game tor you” you didnt do shit this year 😂😂😂😭
Fire the dev team please
As a Chicago bears fan I don’t know why but bear down pitching just sounds right
So a couple gimmicks, the same spiel about the hundreds of new animations as every other year and like 2 features that i thought would have been added a decade ago. At least the graphics finally look current gen…. Oh wait
MLB will be the show fix the squad board for some stadiums
Fix co-op please, not everyone plays Diamond Dynasty..
Why are people not punished for quitting like other sports games??
Why dont online co-op games count towards your online player W/L count?
Why does the game freeze so much of the time especialy in crossplay?
Why cant we pick jerseys in Co-op?
Are we able to cross our own catcher and bean him?
That isn’t even the accurate twins jersey at 1:20 mark.. unless they know something I don’t that’s an inaccurate jersey lmao they dont have a blue jersey with twins letters on it.
If you make this game for the community why have you never replaced the season length options that were removed in MLB 18
That's cool how you can scout pitches
The 2k franchise is light years ahead of San Diego in face scanning and likeness. Nothing was done based off this video to player likeness and graphics…
Konami please make an MLB game
So in diamond dynasty people can’t spam sinker cutter?