It's officially spring, and the start of the baseball season is merely days away. More importantly, the latest in the MLB The Show series, MLB The Show 23, is hitting consoles on March 28th. Aside from an updated roster, MLB The Show 23 will feature a host of new gameplay features, such as a revamped throw accuracy meter and ranked co-op.
For flesh and blood baseball fans, there are not many options for viewing games early, save for keeping track of pre-season training or, heaven forbid, going outside to play themselves. But San Diego Studios is giving players a chance to play its latest title right now.
MLB The Show 23 Early Access
The good news is that it's relatively easy to play this game early. There's no exclusive waitlist. The bad news is that it will cost extra to do so.
It all depends on which edition of MLB The Show 23 the player buys. If they buy the Digital Deluxe Edition or the Captain Edition, both priced at $99.99 USD, then they're automatically enrolled into the game's early access.
There is a separate option for Xbox Game Pass subscribers as well. The Microsoft store offers an MLB The Show 23 Xbox Game Pass Early Access Bundle for $44.99 USD. It's a bit of an ask on top of the subscription price, but it also comes with 2 Gold Choice Packs, 10 Show Packs, 1 Ballplayer Pack, Double Daily login rewards, and 10k Stubs.
Is Early Access Worth It?
Whether these deals are worth buying will depend on a lot of things, including how big a baseball fan the player is. If they were already planning on picking up these editions, or find the offered bonus content aside from the early access interesting, then it's no question.
It goes without saying that, for players mostly interested in multiplayer, the early access period probably won't be as populated as launch day proper, even with cross-play. There is plenty of single-player content, though, like MLB The Show 23's storyline mode, taking players through historic baseball seasons.
Whatever they choose, they should choose quickly. The first pitch of the season is days away, after all.
MLB The Show 23 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and XSX/S.