WithMLB The Show 22set to hit PlayStation, Xbox, and the Nintendo Switch in April, baseball fans are excited to begin the new season. Although the anticipation has accelerated over the last month,including trailers featuring cover athlete Shohei Ohtani, it seems that one of the only other major baseball games on the market is coming to an end.RBI Baseball 22has been canceled.The arcade-themed,MLB-inspired baseball game received a worldwide release with theRBI Baseball 21title one month before the launch ofMLB The Show 21and was met with positive feedback for the simplistic approach to the sport. The title franchise, debuting in 1987 on Atari arcade machines, became a success on the NES and the subsequent move to Sega with later editions further catapulted the games to new heights.RELATED:MLB: The Show 22 Confirms New Legends for the RosterVia Twitter Direct Message,RBI Baseballbroke the news that there are no current plans to developRBI Baseball 22, directing baseball fans' attention toMLB The Show 22. The biggest takeaway is that allRBI Baseballtitles are no longer available for purchase from any online store, although fans who previously bought the game can re-download the game if they removed it from their console through their transaction history. If fans wish to play the game today, they’ll need to have it on their console, however, there will be no more future roster updates added. The news comes as somewhat of a surprise, as fans of the franchise were awaiting news of a new game before the announcement came out of left field.
Eight years ago,RBI Baseballbrought back the franchisewith the release ofRBI Baseball 14, following the cancelation of theMLB 2Kbrand. The combined efforts of Tengen, Namco, and Six Degrees Games from previous games were replaced by MLB Advanced Media as publisher and Behaviour Interactive taking over development. The game received glowing reviews for its simplistic, pick-up-and-play style, and baseball fans of all age groups could grab a controller and jump into the action. Its retro-style callback brought nostalgic feelings to those who enjoyed the games in the late 1980s and 1990s, making the title a major success, and leading to seven future installments until the last release in 2021.
RBI Baseball 21is currently visible on Microsoft’s website, but the game is no longer purchasable. Unless gamers previously purchased a copy, there is no way to find the game anywhere online, unfortunately. With the departure ofRBI Baseball 21,MLB The Show 22becomes the sole baseball gameavailable to purchase and play on console in 2022.
MLB The Show 22releases on April 5 for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
