In honor of MLB The Show 22 cover athlete Shohei Ohtani’s love for anime and manga, Sony hired iconic artist Takashi Okazaki to create manga-inspired cover art for the Collector’s Edition. Sony and developer San Diego Studio officially unveiled Ohtani as MLB The Show 22’s cover star earlier this week, upon unmasking details about the full game itself for the first time.

Like MLB The Show 21, this year’s installment of the baseball sim will not launch exclusively on PlayStation consoles. Instead, the latest entry is a multiplatform release scheduled to hit Xbox consoles and the Nintendo Switch. In announcing the news, Sony and San Diego Studio also confirmed the title will launch day-and-date on Microsoft’s ever-popular Xbox Games Pass service. This much hardly came as a surprise, though, given last year’s version arriving under similar circumstances following Sony’s and the MLB’s renewed licensing deal in 2019. And, to the delight of many a fan, new audiences means MLB The Show will once more feature crossplay, in addition to cross-progression and cross saves for all platforms.

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A post on the PlayStation Blog has outlined what prospective MLB The Show 22 customers can expect from the special editions. Because of Shohei Ohtani’s affinity for anime and manga, Sony partnered with artist and writer Takashi Okazaki of Afro Samurai and Batman Ninja fame to illustrate a manga-inspired steelbook cover for the MVP Edition. This particular version of The Show 22 bears an $85 price tag and offers players access to PS4 (physical) and PS5 (digital code) copies of the game, along with extras that include four days of early access, a Diamond Choice Pack, two Golden Choice Packs, 10 The Show packs, the Ballplayer Pack, 10,000 Stubs, a cover star-themed bat skin, and a profile banner. Plus, Sony’s partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation will once again see PlayStation donate $1 for every MVP and Digital Deluxe Edition sold. As for the latter iteration, priced at $100, customers will gain access to the full game, four days of early access, Diamond Choice Pack, cover athlete Diamond Choice Pack, five Golden Choice Packs, 20 The Show packs, Ballplayer Pack, 25,000 Stubs, and cover star-themed bat skin and profile banner.

Ohtani’s adoration of manga and Takashi Okazaki’s reported love of the former’s athleticism makes this particular endeavor seem like a perfect match, both for the people in question and for fans of the game. The art Okazaki crafted is nothing short of stunning, too, especially when splayed across the MVP Edition’s steelbook case for MLB The Show 22.

The newest MLB The Show entry is already generating plenty of excitement; it’ll launch on the heels of several other notable releases from PlayStation, as well. Horizon: Forbidden West’s cross-gen launch remains on track for February 18, for instance, with Gran Turismo 7 following soon thereafter on March 4.

MLB The Show 22 hits Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S consoles on April 5.

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Source: PlayStation Blog

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Brianna Reeves
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A Senior Writer on Screen Rant’s Game News team, Brianna Reeves graduated from Sam Houston Statue University in 2018 with a Master of Arts in English Literature. Brianna’s enthusiasm for games dates back to Mortal Kombat Trilogy on PlayStation 1, along with classics like MediEvil, Syphon Filter, and THPS2. However, Red Dead Redemption reinvigorated her love for the medium; hopefully, that passion reflects in the work she has contributed to Comic Book Resources, PlayStation LifeStyle, GVMERS, and Screen Rant.

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