Given that February is right around the corner, it’s time to get ready for another MLB The Show game. Late in 2025, Sony revealed the first details on what’s to come for MLB The Show 26. However, since the calendar flipped to 2026, Sony has been radio silent. That changed on January 26 when the game’s social team put out a curious statement.
No new cover athlete for ’26
On social media, the Sony San Diego team released a very short “press release” with a new detail on what’s to come for MLB The Show 26. Aside from thanking fans for their continued support, the social team revealed one new teaser regarding the cover.
In it, SDS wrote, “We know that you are all just as excited as we are for the release of MLB The Show ’26, so we wanted to let everyone know that this year we have decided that we will not have a new cover athlete.”
The word “new” here is doing a lot of heavy lifting. This statement doesn’t insinuate that there won’t be a cover athlete. Simply, it could mean that a player who was a cover athlete in the past will be on it again for 2026.
If this were to be the case, it would be the first time since 2011 that Sony would choose a player to be on the cover for a second time. Joe Mauer was a repeat. However, Sony did back-to-back covers with Mauer, with MLB 10: The Show and 11.
Traditionally, sports game franchises avoid this concept. However, it’s not uncommon. For example, hockey star Alex Ovechkin was on the cover of NHL 07, and then was featured on it again for NHL 21. Auston Matthews was on NHL 20 and NHL 22, while Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes were on the cover for multiple Madden games.
Nonetheless, the teaser does indicate that more information regarding MLB The Show 26 is on the way. That shouldn’t be a shock, for several reasons.
One, Sony tends to wait until late January to reveal information for the new game. That’s been the precedent for years, dating back to MLB The Show 21’s reveal five years ago.
Two, we are two months away from the start of the 2026 MLB season.
Check out more of our gaming coverage, including what we know so far about MLB The Show 26.
Note: A previous edition of this article erroneously stated that there was no player to appear on the cover twice. This has since been updated.