It's no secret that yearly sports titles like Madden NFL and FIFA rarely make major changes with each new installment. However, one sports game that manages to subvert these expectations is MLB The Show. The popular baseball sim has made an effort over the years to make sizable changes to its available content, and the upcoming MLB The Show 23 is no exception with major changes planned for one of its most popular game modes, for better or worse.
Developer San Diego Studio has spent the last few weeks unveiling the newest features in MLB The Show 23. While there are the usual incremental adjustments that most sports games receive every year, the most significant change for MLB The Show 23 is how Diamond Dynasty will function. The card-collecting, fantasy team-building game mode has been a stand-out part of the franchise for years, and San Diego Studio could make or break it for dedicated fans and newcomers alike.
Changes to Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 23
In past MLB The Show games, Diamond Dynasty functioned similarly to Ultimate Team in Madden NFL and FIFA. Players collect baseball cards of past and present players, each with their own rating ranging from 40-99. Once someone has a card, whether it's opened in a card pack or earned through gameplay, that card can be used wherever the player sees fit. In MLB The Show 23, however, SDS is changing when certain cards can be used by introducing card sets and Seasons.
In game modes like Ranked and limited-time Events, players will only be able to use cards from Sets designated for a particular Season. So if someone has a card from Set 1 that has been a mainstay on their team, they'll no longer be able to use it when Season 3 comes around and only cards from Sets 2 and 3 are allowed. There will also be a Core Set that players can use at any time, which includes Live Series cards, Collection Rewards, and the newly-added Negro League Storylines cards. Players will still have the freedom to use whatever cards they like when playing against friends or the CPU, but this limitation in competitive usage is a major shift for Diamond Dynasty.
MLB The Show 23's Diamond Dynasty Changes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
On the positive side of things, revolving Sets of cards each Season should keep content fresh throughout MLB The Show 23's life. Instead of playing with and against the same cards for months on end, there will now be a reason for players to switch up their teams and try something new. SDS also says that high-level cards will be more readily available throughout each Season, giving players with less experience or time on their hands more opportunities to enjoy the best cards in MLB The Show.
However, for many fans, building a cohesive team that can be confidently used in Ranked takes time. Although Diamond Dynasty allows players to build a dependable team without being compelled to spend money, unlike Madden NFL's Ultimate Team, there's still a level of commitment and pride that goes into unlocking certain cards.
With these changes to Diamond Dynasty, players who work hard to unlock cards in Season 1 or 2 will have to start all over again come Seasons 3 and 4. This may become discouraging for players who really enjoyed using particular cards, as now they'll have to start from scratch and take the time to find new MLB cards that feel viable. If there are players who take a break from MLB The Show 23 for an extended period of time, they'll likely need to build a completely new team when they come back.
By introducing this new structure to Diamond Dynasty, SDS seems to be emulating a sort of battle pass structure. Players will now have to work within a limited time frame to acquire and use the cards they want in a particular Set, which may compel some to shell out money for in-game currency to get cards faster. In a gaming climate that has grown progressively weary of battle passes, it may be disheartening to see MLB The Show 23 place such restrictions on a mode that has historically been all about freedom of choice.
How MLB The Show 23 Can Survive Its New Diamond Dynasty Changes
The key to weathering the storm that is likely coming from these Diamond Dynasty changes is communication. So long as SDS remains communicative in its implementation of new Seasons, Sets, and other content, there will hopefully be limited frustration on the part of players. It's also essential that SDS gives players a reason to come back for each Season, as it will have to sell fans on new content more than ever before. Fortunately, the developer has a strong history with The Show's community that will hopefully help this entry succeed.
In a genre full of incremental, often inconsequential change, MLB The Show 23 is taking a big risk with its newest adjustments to Diamond Dynasty. While there is much to be wary about, Seasons and card Sets could rejuvenate the game mode and give players both new and old a reason to check out what SDS has been working on every couple of months. As the real-life MLB implements its own rule changes for the upcoming season, MLB The Show 23 is primed to make some waves among fans of the baseball sim.
MLB The Show 23 releases March 28, 2023, for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
