The sports genre has built up a strong routine of yearly releases that give players something new to play at the start of each respective season. Even if there aren't always significant changes year over year, games like Madden NFL and FIFA have built up a large community thanks to a continuous stream of releases. 2021 had some high highs and low lows for the sports genre, one such high being the release of MLB The Show 21. After almost a year on the market, the baseball sim has stood out as one of the most impressive sports games on next-gen consoles, and there are many fans looking towards the franchise's future.
MLB The Show 21 brought a lot of new innovations into the longstanding franchise. From a stadium creator to finer quality of life improvements, it's been enough to have many fans looking forward to MLB The Show 22. Unfortunately, the future of MLB The Show has looked uncertain for the last month because of issues that transcend the gaming industry. Since the beginning of December, Major League Baseball has been in a lockout that has stopped any and all business proceedings, and its far reaching effects could end up disrupting the production of MLB The Show 22.
Explaining The MLB Lockout
The MLB has experienced lockouts like this current one in the past, and in simplest terms, it comes down to a contract dispute between the league and the player's union. As a part of a new five year contract between the two groups, the players wanted more control over the terms of their individual contracts, while the league wanted to establish salary restrictions among other things. Because the league and the player's union couldn't come to an agreement before a certain deadline, all professional proceedings were halted. Unfortunately, the far reaching nature of those proceedings could affect The Show 22 in the long run.
How The MLB Lockout Could Affect MLB The Show 22
The ongoing lockout has forced some changes through various MLB properties, the most significant being that the league has stopped using the likenesses of any current players for commercial purposes. From websites to television programming, because there is no contract with the player's union, the league has no license to make money off of the players. This restriction could end up working its way into MLB The Show 22, because if the likeness of players like Fernando Tatis Jr. can't be used in any capacity during the lockout, that extends to depictions in video games.
Baseball games have gotten around not being able to include certain players in the past, as some players simply don't give permission to game developers to use their likeness. There has never been an issue of this magnitude, however, and it could mean one of two things for MLB The Show 22 and developer San Diego Studio. If the league and the player's union isn't able to come to terms soon, The Show 22 could experience a significant delay past its usual March/April release window. Or in the worst case scenario, if there's no new contract by the start of the 2022 season, and the summer months start to get closer and closer, MLB The Show 22 might not come out at all.
The fate of MLB The Show 22 might be low on the priority list for the league as a whole, but it could have far reaching effects for the gaming industry. MLB The Show 21 made great strides for the franchise, as it not only introduced many new features, but it brought The Show to Xbox after being a PlayStation exclusive since its first entry. With spring creeping closer each day, time is running out for SDS to make a final decision about The Show 22, and unfortunately it won't be the developer's fault if the game is ultimately hit with a delay. Sadly, fans can only keep their fingers crossed that this lockout will reach its end before that has to happen.
MLB The Show 21 is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.