Why I'm Finally Walking Away from MLB The Show (And Why You Should Consider It Too)
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After years of playing MLB The Show religiously, often logging 250+ hours annually, I'm finally throwing in the towel.
I've been a loyal customer because I love baseball and competitive online play. But somewhere along the way, this franchise stopped feeling like entertainment and started feeling like an uncompensated part-time job.
I'm done paying $70 every year for an increasingly restrictive experience that offers diminishing returns. Unless future installments are free through a subscription or heavily discounted, I'm out. Here's why.
- Severely Dated Graphics and a Stagnant Engine
We're playing on powerful current-generation hardware, including the PS5 Pro, yet MLB The Show still looks like it's stuck in the previous generation.
The aging graphics engine is painfully obvious. Player models, facial animations, stadium environments, lighting, and overall presentation look severely dated compared to other modern sports titles.
Year after year, we're handed incremental visual improvements instead of the fundamental graphical overhaul this franchise desperately needs. There's no clear commitment to a modernized engine, and the gap between MLB The Show and other current-generation games continues to grow.
At what point does charging $70 for what increasingly resembles a glorified roster update become unacceptable?
- The Murder of Events
This was the final straw for me.
The decision to move Events to a "one week on, one week off" schedule is absolutely baffling.
For players like myself who enjoy competitive Diamond Dynasty but don't want to commit to a grueling nine-inning Ranked game, Events were the perfect solution. Quick, competitive three-inning games using the cards we've spent countless hours collecting.
Now that option disappears every other week.
Think about that. Instead of expanding how customers can enjoy their game, San Diego Studio is actively restricting an existing mode.
Why?
There's absolutely no good reason a permanent three-inning competitive mode shouldn't exist. We're not asking for some revolutionary new feature. We're asking to consistently access a format that's already in the game.
- The Brain-Numbing Offline Grind
I cannot adequately describe how sick I am of Moments.
Repeatedly loading into arbitrary situations against Rookie-level CPU opponents, completing tedious objectives, and navigating menus just to unlock program rewards is not my idea of entertainment.
It's busywork.
The entire appeal of Diamond Dynasty is collecting cards, building a team, and competing against other players. Yet the progression system repeatedly pushes you into mindless offline chores rather than rewarding you for playing the modes you actually enjoy.
I don't want to spend my limited gaming time hitting doubles against a Rookie CPU pitcher because somebody decided that was the required assignment for the day.
I want to play baseball against actual human beings.
Why is that such a difficult concept for this developer to understand?
- An Obsession With Controlling How We Play
This is arguably my biggest problem with the franchise.
San Diego Studio seems increasingly determined to dictate exactly how customers are supposed to spend their time.
Want to progress efficiently? Complete these specific Moments. Play these particular modes. Follow this predetermined schedule. Grind these objectives before they expire.
Whatever happened to simply playing the game you purchased and earning meaningful rewards along the way?
A permanent three-inning Ranked alternative, broader program progression across all modes, and greater freedom to earn rewards would dramatically improve the experience.
Instead, we're funneled into repetitive activities that maximize engagement time rather than enjoyment.
And while I can't prove the developers' internal motivations, it's difficult to ignore how frustrating progression systems can encourage players to spend money on Stubs rather than continue grinding.
Whether intentional or not, the result is the same: the game increasingly feels designed around controlling player behavior instead of respecting player choice.
- Neglecting Franchise and Road to the Show
Diamond Dynasty receives the overwhelming share of attention while Franchise and Road to the Show continue to feel like secondary priorities.
These modes should be showcases for what modern baseball gaming can accomplish. Deep franchise management, meaningful career progression, improved presentation, smarter AI, and genuinely innovative features.
Instead, improvements frequently feel incremental.
It's difficult not to notice that the mode with the strongest recurring monetization opportunities receives so much attention while traditional single-player experiences struggle to evolve meaningfully.
Not everything needs to revolve around Diamond Dynasty and selling Stubs.
- The $70 Annual Release Cycle Is Getting Ridiculous
This franchise desperately needs to justify its annual asking price.
When the underlying graphics technology remains largely unchanged, core gameplay feels familiar, and meaningful innovations arrive at a glacial pace, what exactly are we paying another $70 for?
Updated rosters? New cards? Another year of programs and Moments?
I've reached the point where I simply cannot justify purchasing essentially the same experience every year, particularly when some of the changes actually make the game less enjoyable.
The annual release model should deliver meaningful improvements, not just reset everyone's progress and restart the grind.
- There Are Better Ways to Spend 250 Hours a Year
This is what ultimately changed my perspective.
There are so many incredible, handcrafted games available right now that offer meaningful progression, impressive graphics, compelling storytelling, and experiences that genuinely respect your time.
Instead of spending 50+ hours every month completing repetitive assignments to keep up with Diamond Dynasty, I could be experiencing entirely new worlds, stories, and gameplay systems.
And unlike MLB The Show, those games generally aren't asking me to start the same treadmill over again every March.
The opportunity cost has simply become too high.
Final Thoughts: I'm Not Burned Out on Baseball
I'm burned out on what MLB The Show has become.
I'm not asking for free rewards, easier competition, or everything handed to me. I'm perfectly happy earning my progression through competitive gameplay.
What I'm asking for is simple:
Let me play the modes I actually enjoy without arbitrary restrictions.
Reward competitive online play without forcing repetitive offline chores.
Modernize the aging graphics engine and presentation.
Deliver meaningful improvements that justify the annual purchase price.
Stop treating player engagement metrics as more important than player enjoyment.
I've supported this franchise for years, invested hundreds upon hundreds of hours, and genuinely enjoyed much of that time.
But loyalty only goes so far.
Corporate publishers have discovered that keeping players engaged isn't necessarily the same thing as keeping them entertained. Frustration, artificial progression barriers, and fear of missing out have become increasingly common substitutes for genuinely rewarding gameplay.
The only meaningful message customers can send is to stop rewarding practices they dislike with their money and time.
I'm not quitting because I stopped loving baseball. I'm quitting because I stopped enjoying the way this game expects me to experience it.
For the first time in years, I have absolutely no intention of purchasing the next MLB The Show at launch.
There are too many better games out there, and I'm done treating my hobby like a second job.
Good luck to everyone still enjoying the grind.
I've officially clocked out.
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There are lots of reasons you could put on a list like this. I think we all agree with #1. Your other reasons wouldn't be anywhere on my list, but whatever, its your list.
The only issue I disagree with is saying this game is a "mind-numbing grind." They've taken almost every grind out of this game. No team affinity, programs are short, innings and multiplayer paths are short and quickly done, etc. This community has a problem where it complains about any grind - or maybe its the young people in general who always yell "just let me play the game the way I want!". On top of sports games, Im an old school rpg player - grinding is kinda the point of games.
If you rephrased the complaint as - "offline modes should be more entertaining for all types of players" - then I'd agree.
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I agree with your assessment with the exception of moments, they have become rather ridiculous and tedious, require some of them but not all of them is probably good middle ground, which they have done before.
I like the grind, I wish there was more content to grind for like TA. That Neon TA last year was on point I loved it and the Spooky grind I liked that too. I wish we had more of that kind of content. The Neon TA had a lot of usable end game cards like Berkman and Gehrig amongst others I can't think of. -
@rubicante23_PSN the grind is still there disguised as CPU pitching. Back in the day they would throw meatballs on veteran and you could get your stat grind finished in a decent amount of time. If you wanna play a more intense cpu game that’s what HOF and legend are for. Now the pitching on veteran is absolutely horrific.
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@DrBear100_PSN I wont fight you there.
But, anytime SDS tries something interesting where you have to jump through a lot of hoops and challenges to get to a reward - a million people yell and they take it back.
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If the reward is worth the grind or if I know I'll need that reward for a future collection I'll be all over it.
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I agree with you about the events 100%. Every year people are hoping for more online modes and every year, we are disappointed. In fact, not only have they NOT added any new online modes (minus COOP), but they have modified the only two modes they had to make them worse. Events now being sporadic and only there half the time is crazy. And BR has had its rewards gutted so badly that it is pointless to play.
Which leads me to the real true problem with this year's model. Money. This game is the first game that has been all about money. In their case, stubs. In the past, there were many ways to make stubs.. You could flip the market, Grind BR (if you were good enough) or Invest in players....
But this year all of that has been taken away.. Can you still flip the market? Yes, but it was extremely difficult in the earlier parts of the year, especially with the amount of bots. BR rewards could be an Ohtani.. but more likely would be an 88 Bryce Harper.. and Investing was cut down to a stack of 20 cards per player.... What this means is to obtain stubs, all roads lead through them. And wouldn't you know it. almost every amazing player is put behind a Chase pack this year, with no other way to obtain them then to pay them to receive it.It truly is a great model though because it isn't Pay to Play... This is something else...
Keep prices for most of these cards ridiculously high, and push players to either play hours a day, or buy stubs from them. And if anyone or anything threatens that model (3rd party sites), then they pounce....
I don't know what there profit looks like with this year's game, but even though we are all saying how bad it is, I can almost guarantee this was their most lucrative year to date.. Because of that, you will see definitely see more of this next year. I would bet anything on it.
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Sorry to see you go. If a game feels like a job, it's not worth it. For me, flipping cards and grinding offline are an escape, though Ranked can definitely get stressful.
With two small kids, I'm always "on call," so committing to nine innings is tough. I got my Championship banner this year and haven't had much chance to push past it. That'll have to wait until next year.
But I agree 100% on Events. They should always be available. They're perfect for relaxing, playing online, and progressing the multiplayer program. If the kids need me and my pause timer runs out, losing an Event game is no big deal. That's harder to swallow in Ranked. Offline fits my life better right now, but when I can play online, Events are exactly what I want.
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As a business owner, I truly appreciate the detailed constructive criticism. This is how a good business should evaluate feedback. Personally, my SOLE deciding factor to buy next year’s game is re-instating early legends (Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx, Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove (especially as a reliever again), etc.) and new ones like Joe DiMaggio, Grover Alexander, and plenty of worthy pitchers. Without it, I will replay earlier versions I have. I banged the drum for Roy Campanella and was happy to see Red , Albert Pujols, and Phil Rizzuto added, and it brought me back this year. We’ll see for next year, as my free time will unfortunately be even more limited, but I am hopeful.
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Not buying next year for the first year since inception. Hope more people join. The lack of improvement… frankly, the game was worse this year than the last few. I’m done.
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To the OP ... BRAVO!!!
All the points you raised were detailed and on spec.
I'll add another that personally spoiled it for me ... the wholesale malicious and petty neglect of all three of the remaining customer content creation modes -- Stadium Creator, Uniform Creator, and Logo Editor.
But, this does center of one of your critical and entirely fair repudiations of SDS ... obsession about hypercontrol of the game. When Stadium Creator was first released, no one considered it a fully finished game mode, but we all expected that over time SDS would continue to upgrade it and make it what it could be. Then, years went by without those upgrades and then last year we learn the code to support one of those desired options was there all along and turned off by SDS!
Then, when the newly unlocked option was discovered, and an option to use it badly was also discovered, the designer community handed to SDS on a platter the easy option to keep the option from harming the game and SDS sat on their hands and let it harm the game!
