MLB The Show 25 Game Pass: The Answer + What to Play

Short answer up top, because that is what you came for: MLB The Show 25 is not on Game Pass, and it never arrived on PS Plus either. That makes it the first entry in years that you cannot stream or download through a Microsoft subscription, so playing it means buying it outright. Below I cover the facts, the cheapest way to grab it, and a stack of cross-genre games that actually deliver if you would rather put that $70 somewhere with more replay value.

_Last updated: June 7, 2026._ _Prices checked: June 2026. Sources: Steam, Epic, publisher pages and partner stores. We refresh prices and sale notes regularly._

Best picks at a glance

• Best cross-platform: Hunt: Showdown (PvPvE bounty hunts, plays great with one or two friends)
• Best co-op looter: Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced
• Best sports-sim itch (non-baseball): Skater XL
• Best for 2 players: LEGO Batman: The Videogame
• Best for big groups: Duck Game
• Best couch party brawler: Stick Fight: The Game
• Best solo deep dive: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Best cheap oddball: There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

Quick list

Sixteen games worth your money, sorted so you can scan and click straight through to a price check.

Why MLB The Show 25 isn't on Game Pass

For several years, MLB The Show was a reliable Game Pass headliner, landing day one. That run ended with this edition. Sony San Diego Studio confirmed the change at reveal, and the game launched as a paid purchase only on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. The standard edition runs $69.99, with Digital Deluxe buyers getting early access. There is still no PC version, which is the other thing readers keep asking me about.

The one bright spot for players who own it across different consoles: crossplay is fully supported, so PlayStation, Xbox and Switch users can match up together. If you already bought it, that is genuinely great. If you were waiting for a Game Pass drop, this list is for you.

If you want the sports-sim itch

No baseball on Game Pass does not mean no sports feel. Skater XL is the closest thing on my shelf to a pure sports simulation, and it is doing one thing exceptionally well: the dual-stick control that maps each foot to a thumbstick. It is awkward for an hour, then it clicks, and suddenly you are obsessing over a single line the way you would grind a perfect pitch sequence. Solo career grinding is the heart of it, with online sessions if you want company. Quick pitch: if you love the practice-makes-perfect loop of a sports sim and you do not need a league mode, this scratches it for a fraction of the price.

Co-op and multiplayer picks

If the real goal was just playing something good with friends, these earn their slot.

• Hunt: Showdown is my top crossplay pick. It pairs PvP tension with PvE monster hunting, and a match can swing from quiet stalking to a frantic firefight in seconds. Best in duos or trios, and it runs across PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
• Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced is the easy entry point to four-player looting. Drop-in co-op, a billion guns, and a tone that never takes itself seriously. The original Borderlands: Game of the Year is here too if you want the untouched PC release.

Best for 2 players

Got exactly one other person on the couch or online? Start here.

• LEGO Batman: The Videogame is the comfort food of split-screen co-op. Low stress, lots of smashing, fine for kids and tired adults alike.
• The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game plays the same friendly way with a goofier setting and Switch support for handheld sessions.
• Untitled Goose Game added two-player co-op, so you and a friend can terrorise a village as a pair of awful geese. It is short, charming, and works on basically everything.

Best for big groups and couch chaos

When four or more people pile in, you want short rounds and zero tutorials.

• Duck Game is the king of one-hit-kill party rounds. Grab a weapon, fire wildly, laugh, reset. Matches last seconds.
• Stick Fight: The Game is the same energy with ragdoll physics and weapons that fly everywhere. Cheap, loud, perfect for a full room.
• Wargame: Red Dragon goes the other direction for strategy crowds, with large-scale Cold War battles that can fill lobbies well past four. It is a brain-burner, not a party game, but it scales big.

Best solo deep dives

If the appeal of a sports career mode is sinking dozens of hours into one save, these single-player RPGs give you that for far less.

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is the open-world time sink. Wander, quest, get distracted for hours, repeat.
• Fallout and Fallout 2 are the choice-driven classics that still hold up if you can meet their old-school pacing.
• ATOM RPG carries that torch with a Soviet post-apocalypse and genuinely tough decisions. Great value for the hours it returns.

Quick pitch for this group: if you like reading, planning, and watching your choices ripple, any of these will hold you for weeks.

Best cross-platform

Crossplay was one of the few wins MLB The Show 25 kept, and if matching across consoles is the priority, Hunt: Showdown is my pick from this list. It spans PC, PlayStation and Xbox, and the tense squad play holds up whether your friend is on a different system or right next to you. On the lighter side, Untitled Goose Game is the one that lands on the widest spread of hardware, including Switch, if cross-buying across your household matters more than crossplay.

Honourable / adjacent picks

These two are great, but they only loosely fit a "what to play instead of a sports sim" list, so they go here rather than as core picks.

• Sultan's Game: a dark, card-driven strategy curio. Brilliant if you want grim decision-making, but it is niche and single-player only, nothing like a sports game.
• There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension: a meta puzzle-comedy that breaks the fourth wall constantly. A cheap, clever palate cleanser, included because it is one of the best value-per-dollar buys on the whole list.

FAQ

Is MLB The Show 25 on Xbox Game Pass? No. For the first time in years, this entry skipped Game Pass entirely. You have to buy it to play.

Is MLB The Show 25 on PS Plus? No. It was left off PlayStation Plus too, so there is no subscription route on either platform.

Will MLB The Show 25 come to Game Pass later? There is no sign of it. The studio said it would not be on subscription services for this cycle, and as of June 2026 that has not changed. I would not buy on the assumption it shows up later.

Is MLB The Show 25 on PC? No. It launched on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch only. There is no PC version, so Steam, Epic and GOG are not options for this one.

Is MLB The Show 25 cross-platform? Yes. All console platforms support crossplay in the relevant modes, so PlayStation, Xbox and Switch players can match together.

How much does MLB The Show 25 cost? The standard edition is $69.99, with pricier deluxe tiers that add packs and early access. Prices fall over the season, so check before paying list.

What can I play on Game Pass instead of MLB The Show 25? Subscription line-ups change constantly, so confirm current availability before you commit. From this list, co-op shooters and CRPG-style games rotate through services often. The honest move is to price-check each title on our catalog and compare buying it outright against a month of a subscription.

Where is the cheapest place to buy these games? That depends on the day and the store. PC titles here move across Steam, Epic, GOG and partner keys like Eneba and Kinguin. Compare them all on our catalog and watch markdowns on the deals page.

Bottom line

MLB The Show 25 is not on Game Pass, full stop, and there is no PC version to chase either. If that is a dealbreaker, you are not short on better-value options. Co-op fans get Hunt: Showdown and Borderlands, couch crowds get Duck Game and Stick Fight, and solo players get a whole shelf of deep RPGs for less than one baseball sim. Compare real prices across stores on our catalog, check what is discounted right now on deals, and keep an eye on free giveaways before you spend a cent.

Alex, Scout Team