Changes Coming to MLB The Show 25

The wait is finally over. On March 18th, MLB The Show 2025 will be made available to the public. A yearly tradition that so many in the baseball community look forward to each year, this year’s release comes with new features and significant upgrades.

Before diving into the game, can we talk about the beautiful cover? A trio of young superstars – Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, and Gunnar Henderson – share the cover in what might be my favorite to date. Not only is San Diego Studio highlighting the game’s young stars, but also showing love to small markets.

The cover design is great, but how’s the actual game? What is different and what has been improved from previous versions?

First, it is important to note that although the game is no longer offered on PS4, the game is offered on Switch, meaning it will not be current generation only. This gives the game some limitations that we hope will be different in the future.

Now, without further ado, let’s dive in.

MLB The Show 25: Gameplay

Each year, there are changes to gameplay, with some updates being more impactful than others. In this version, updates have been made with a focus on defense.

Ambush Hitting – You want to play a guessing game? Ambush hitting gives you the opportunity to guess which side of the plate the pitcher will attack. Guess right and you have a higher chance of making quality contact with better timing. Of course, if you do not guess right, the advantage will be with the pitcher.

Infield Defense – Finally, defense is given the importance it deserves. There is now a greater emphasis on your players’ defense ratings, with higher-rated defenders having a better jump and lower-rated defenders resulting in a slower first step. In my opinion, this was a much-needed change. Now roster building has become more difficult, but also more realistic, as defense has a higher importance.

Home Run Robbing Meter – We all love robbing home runs. However, year to year, the ability or likelihood of robbing a home run has changed pretty drastically. The new home run-robbing meter will rely on your skill more and also come with additional animations for the players who do rob home runs.

Throwing Accuracy – Another emphasis on defense, the throwing meter will be much more sensitive and favor higher-rated arms. Instead of a rather generic meter, a risk and reward meter will allow for higher risk throws, but be careful. If your player does not have an accurate arm, the throw will be offline. More skill is required to time up these throws, giving you an increased focus player to player.

Franchise

A personal favorite of mine, franchise mode gives you the ability to construct a roster, run a front office, and build a World Series team. Franchise mode has needed updates for a while now, and all indications show the changes are finally here.

In the past, free agency and trades were not very realistic, and you could game the system in many ways. Now, top teams will have the type of influence we see in real life, while free agency is a bit more challenging. Instead of offering a ton of money and automatically getting the player you want, more factors will be present.

Free agents will make decisions based on market size, how competitive your team is, and influence of other moves. There will be negotiations, and you will need to set priorities for certain players, or they will sign elsewhere.

Players can now notify you of their interest or additional offers they have on the table. Set up your big board, but be careful. Contracts will be much more realistic than in years past, and your small market team will no longer be able to sign the level of players you did previously.

Personally, I love these changes. Franchise mode was becoming a bit too easy, and oftentimes, players would land on teams that were never going to make sense in the real world.

As someone who likes to rebuild teams, this added layer of difficulty makes the game more fun. Having realistic trades, instead of whatever you call the previous year’s ridiculous trades, is a major step in the right direction.

Road to the Show

Finally, we have some college baseball teams included!

Road to the show will now begin in the high school ranks before taking your talents to college where real teams will be available. Join the LSU Tigers, or any of the eight college teams offered, and watch your player’s progress grow as your player develops.

Your player will have a chance to join the MLB Draft combine, which will give you opportunities to enhance your draft stock by performing well in a series of drills. Additionally, a first-person camera view will now be offered, allowing you to really get the full experience of what it would be like to play through the perspective of a player.

Like previous years, once you are drafted, or after your college seasons, you will join the minors and climb your way through the system. As you earn attributes, improving your defense is likely going to play a larger role than in previous years, considering the changes to emphasize defense.

Graphics and Other Changes

Each year, people will debate about the graphics and whether they have really made significant changes. To me, the graphics have improved and do look more realistic, from jersey fits to player movements.

Additional camera angles, especially for home run trots and celebrations, are a fun addition. The “debut patches” players wear for their first game will also make their introduction to The Show this season. Here are a few other additions:

• The Negro Leagues are continuing to gain more and more storylines with five additional players added to this year’s release. San Diego Studio adding these unique Negro League storylines to help educate fans on the Negro Leagues has been one of the coolest features they have added over the years.

• The A’s will have their Sacramento stadium in the game.

• Players’ information cards will now have game logs along with their draft information added.

• Swim move slides are here! This will allow for more realistic slides than the previous inside or outside the bag slides.

• Larger soundtrack – The Show now has nearly 40 different songs that will play randomly, which is an increase from previous years.

• A “GOAT” level is added, which will now serve as the hardest level of the game, adding a new challenge for the best players.

Final Thoughts

Personally, this is the most excited I have been for a release. The efforts to make defense more important should help the game feel more realistic. Franchise mode fixing the issues with trades and free agency adds a level of difficulty that was way overdue. No longer will teams be able to sign unrealistic free agents or trade organizational guys for key contributors.

Leaning in on the Negro Leagues is also a huge positive. Many younger players are now being educated on Negro League players that were an important part of baseball history. Adding colleges to Road to the Show is also a big step in the right direction.

Overall, the game has made strides toward making the experience realistic and challenging, something we all were hoping for. San Diego Studio listened to feedback and applied it, making the best version of The Show that we have seen.

Check out The Show’s X page for more information and follow the many competitive players, such as Nutzy, who helped me with this article.