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.