With just eight days before the start of early access for MLB The Show 22, San Diego Studios (SDS) is nearly complete with the new feature reveals. Today, SDS had its penultimate Feature Premiere for MLB The Show 22. The focus for this was Road to the Show and Ballplayer. Both will obviously return for The Show 22, but will look a bit different.
Among some of the new additions to the Road to the Show (RTTS) game mode includes new cutscenes. In MLB The Show 21, the current-gen version featured scenes in which former MiLB play-by-play man and current San Diego Studios broadcast designer Ben Gellman, along with MLB Network personalities, talk to various people around the game and guide your character along the journey in a podcast setting. New scenes involving both returning, and new commentators, such as former Twins catcher and MLB The Show 10 and 11 cover athlete Joe Mauer, will be a part of the Road to the Show mode this year.
Additionally, RTTS will now give users the ability to manage up to 10 different Ballplayer slots. This is a departure from MLB The Show 21, as players could only use one Ballplayer — the virtual avatar used in Road to the Show — throughout the game mode and any save files attached to a user’s profile. The limitations of Ballplayer were maligned by some of the community, but that problem appears to have been resolved.
Another point of contention from last year was how Diamond Dynasty was integrated into Road to the Show for Ballplayers. In MLB The Show 21, users needed to grind in Diamond Dynasty in order to work on Ballplayer-themed Missions, and obtain perks that could be unlocked via Inning Programs. While this was, in a sense, convenient for Diamond Dynasty-only players, it also disincentivized players who only played Road to the Show.
For MLB The Show 22, archetype programs have returned. However, Ballplayer Missions will now be exclusively limited to Road to the Show. The reward rates and quantities have also been boosted, making it easier to rank up the Ballplayer.
Returning for MLB The Show 22 is the ability to use a Ballplayer in Diamond Dynasty, the ability to build a two-way player, and the perk system. Players will also be able to seamlessly change pitches via the Ballplayer menu, as opposed to going through Training. Pitches, including the infamous knuckleball, can be equipped and unequipped to a pitcher Ballplayer with relative ease. However, Ballplayers who do own a knuckleball will not be able to use the pitch online in Diamond Dynasty.
San Diego Studios will do one more MLB The Show 22 Feature Premiere show. That will come on March 31, and will cover Diamond Dynasty, Live Content, and plans for eSports in 2022. MLB The Show 22 will launch worldwide on April 5, with early access beginning on April 1.
