San Diego Studio's MLB The Show 21 is making history as the first MLB the Show game to release on Xbox platforms despite traditionally being a PlayStation-exclusive series created by a Sony-owned developer. While this is undoubtedly a boon for baseball fans across a larger swath of video game consoles, it has had some interesting outcomes with regards to branding.

It was confirmed earlier this month that MLB The Show 21 is coming to Xbox because Major League Baseball, the organization, wanted to push its availability further. However, because San Diego Studio is a subsidiary of Sony, players who got early access to MLB The Show 21 yesterday via its Jackie Robinson or Deluxe edition sets came across an odd situation wherein Sony-related logos appeared as the game started up.

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This clash of corporate interests was widely publicized by Xbox Senior Communications Manager Jeff Rubenstein on Twitter, who posted MLB The Show 21's start-up sequence to celebrate its early access launch day. He says he "recorded this on my Xbox Series S," including a mind-blown emoji afterward, clearly referring to the fact that Sony Interactive Entertainment and PlayStation Studios both appear before San Diego Studio's logo even on a Microsoft console.

Rubenstein has perhaps more ground to be impressed by this meeting of the traditionally rival video game companies than anyone, as prior to his currently seven-year stint at Microsoft he also worked as a social media manager at Sony Computer Entertainment America from 2007 to 2012, according to his LinkedIn page. That said, many may be intrigued to see Sony branding appear on a game that can be played via Xbox platforms, particularly as rumors point to a Microsoft and Nintendo partnership coming later this year.

There are reasons for fans of sports simulation games to be interested in MLB The Show 21 beyond its interesting place in the video game publishing scene. On top of it being a major first-party game for next-generation consoles, there are quality-of-life improvements in MLB The Show 21 such as the game displaying home run distance and exit velocity without players needing to view a replay.

Fans of the sport will also be able to create custom baseball stadiums in MLB The Show 21, which should help give the game some longevity. While it seems unlikely this foray into Microsoft's turf will encourage other Sony-exclusive titles to follow suit, attitudes about console exclusivity could start to shift if MLB The Show becomes a big success on Xbox. At this point only time will tell.

MLB The Show 21 launches April 20 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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Source: LinkedIn