MLB The Show 26 Review: The Most Controversial Launch? Broken Pitching, PCI Shrinkage, and the Death of Discipline Attribute

It's been a while since MLB 26 was released. After several weeks of playing, we'll discuss a comprehensive review of the game and some areas for improvement.

Gameplay

The official changes to the attribute rating system, including the addition of Fielding Attributes, have drastically altered the gameplay this year.

These attributes take into account a player's movement in all directions—left, right, back, and forward. This makes the animations more favorable to the batter. Even players with a fielding rating of 75-80 will have slower movement speeds.

While this brings many unique hitting advantages, making it easier to make more errors and hits closer to the bat tag, it also introduces significant drawbacks.

In competitive mode, almost every game sees at least 10-15 hits, making pitching extremely difficult, especially with the reduction in accuracy and the overall pitching mechanics. This has gradually transformed MLB 26 into a game solely focused on offense.

It's worth noting that Big Heat update did improve the pitching mechanics, but this only applies to fast pitchers.

User Interface and Graphics

In MLB The Show 26, the user interfaces for most game modes either remained unchanged or only slightly modified—except for Diamond Dynasty mode.

The official Diamond Dynasty user interface was changed, featuring a different background and customizable stadiums instead of just colored backgrounds. Furthermore, player cards for all game modes were also changed.

Players understand that changes take time, but some time has passed, and the user interface remains slow. Worse still, some basic functions are either buggy or completely unusable.

For example, 90 OVR McGonigle player card cannot be sold, yet it has a Marketplace tab.

There's also the new PXP modification feature in Diamond Dynasty, which players can activate by completing experience and attribute goals for each player. Each modification has its advantages and disadvantages; theoretically, depending on the selected modification, players can decrease a player's attributes. To be honest, at this stage of the game, I haven't found any use for the modification features.

Storylines

As the best game mode in MLB The Show 26, Storylines is an excellent entry point for young people and even veteran fans who want to learn more.

While not all pre-selected players will appear in Storylines at launch, it includes the stories of Mule Suttles and Roy Campanella, and Peanut Johnson. Campanella's story, in particular, is noteworthy; he almost became a member of Phillie team, and this year's featured Negro League player.

Road to the Show

This year, many useful features have been added, and the version is more streamlined.

It includes regularly changing objectives that affect player potential and earned tokens, a simulation and token acquisition function, and Hall of Fame tracker, all of which greatly enhance the player experience.

Some mechanics remain the same as last year; players can also go to college. While going to college adds three years to a player's age, it may have a positive impact on their MLB draft position. However, going to college only grants players a small number of tokens. In reality, it should bring more benefits, a higher overall rating, and faster access to Road to the Show.

Franchise

March to October has been cancelled, although technically it's still preserved through Streamlined Franchise. So, this is currently the only game mode.

The biggest change in Franchise is the new trade system, the most confusing aspects being Untouchables mechanic and the slower trade response time replacing the old trade meter.

Teams can add up to 20 players, while most MLB teams only have one to three true Untouchables players, which is far too high. This leads to some strange AI decisions, making the trade system more challenging.

Related: MLB The Show 26 Franchise Mode guide: How to master the new trade features and AI management system?

Improvements Needed

Excessive pitching shoulder-grabbing animations

Even with balls far from the batter, players are automatically moving away from home plate more frequently than in previous years. This may not be a coincidence, as Discipline attribute has been removed.

PCI Shrinkage Issue

PCI refers to the phenomenon where PCI value decreases significantly when facing the same-side batter, such as a left-handed pitcher versus a left-handed batter, or a right-handed pitcher versus a right-handed batter, especially against breaking balls, particularly sliders and sweeps.

The developers stated they would address this issue, but it still occurs in the game.

Card Issues

Cards in Diamond Dynasty mode display their immediate purchase price, but these cards cannot be sold. This usually occurs when viewing another sellable card. The main profile has no game history, and there is no record of games played in Diamond Dynasty mode either.

Furthermore, many Assorted Programs have very few cards. The 2026 Spring Breakout Program only has 3 Diamonds cards and 3,000 XP. The number of obtainable MLB The Show 26 stubs has also decreased.

Of course, there are other minor issues in the game, which you'll likely discover with careful play. While there is some decent new content, this is definitely the worst launch version of MLB The Show I've ever seen. We hope the official team will listen carefully to player suggestions, optimize and refine the game, and give us a better MLB 26.