Just hours before the start of the MLB The Show 23 beta test, developer Sony San Diego went over what players can expect from the gameplay. The developers held a Feature Premiere deep dive on February 14, highlighting the major gameplay changes coming to The Show 23. Some were made to make the game a bit more challenging, while others are designed to fix some much-requested flaws.
Related: When is the release date for MLB The Show 23?
Among the notable gameplay changes coming to MLB The Show 23 include tweaks to fielding. In the Feature Premiere, the developers noted there were far too few errors made in the field. Thus, the team looked to add more of a challenging bent to fielding for this year.
In past titles, the “bullseye” of the button accuracy meter stayed the same — regardless of whether the throw was easy or difficult to make. For 23, the meter’s center will change. Players will now need to change how long to hold down on the throw button, depending on the difficulty of the throw.
Fielding attributes have also received a tweak, as the development touted that The Show’s 23 fielding attribute will have a heightened effect on start transitions. This will affect how quickly a fielder reacts to fly balls hit, a move designed to make the field play “bigger.”
For hitting, the developers noted that the competitive gamestyle — the one used for Diamond Dynasty — will be enhanced. Players should notice fewer foul balls and less base hits off of very late timing, but pitchers will have a better chance of striking out batters. Those with good timing and PCI placement will still be rewarded, but the margin of error is set to be much smaller.
This point became somewhat of a controversial issue in The Show 22. On social media, users throughout the summer months voiced complaints regarding how easy it was to square up balls and make contact.
Going back to the strikeouts, the developers noted that batters will have 50% less vision on competitive gameplay. This has been done to lessen the amount of times hitters make good contact on off-PCI swings.
While this deep dive didn’t focus on Diamond Dynasty, there were some announcements regarding the CCG mode. Users will notice that the DH will be in effect for The Show 23, and two-way players — like Shohei Ohtani — can be used as pitchers and position players. As far as co-op, there will be a ranked system that will allow users to accumulate awards.
This deep dive came just hours before the start of the MLB The Show 23 Tech Test. The beta will be available for one week.
