Microsoft Sent Xbox Series X|S Consoles To Sony Pre-Release

MLB The Show 21 had a much higher profile launch than you'd usually expect this year. Despite being developed by Sony's San Diego Studio and published by
Sony Interactive Entertainment, it's appearance on Xbox caused quite a stir when Microsoft revealed it'd be a day one release on Game Pass.

While that decision was caused by MLB directly, Sarah Bond, head of Microsoft's new Gaming Ecosystem Organisation, has revealed further insights into what happened. Speaking with Axios, Bond confirmed that Microsoft had sent Sony Xbox Series X|S consoles prior to their release, though they didn't specify when exactly Sony were given the new hardware.

Read More: Xbox Game Pass (June 2021): All Confirmed and Removed Games

Microsoft Sent Xbox Series X|S Consoles To Sony Pre-Release For MLB The Show 21

Saying the move showed an incredibly high level of "industry trust", Bond explained that Microsoft's been keen to represent every major sport on their console, explaining "The Show always came up. We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox”.

Having been a PlayStation exclusive since inception, it's the only major Baseball simulation to see annual releases, after 2K Sports ended their rival series in 2013. Evidently, that trust paid off and thanks to launching through Game Pass, Xbox claims The Show 21 had the second biggest launch of all-time for a sports game.