Konami has announced a partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) to develop a new mobile sports game. Dubbed eBaseball: MLB Pro Spirit, the game will feature officially-licensed players and teams from MLB, including Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman and San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill.
MLB will also be taking a big step in marketing eBaseball: MLB Pro Spirit, complete with logos for the game being promoted on its official website, as well as the upcoming MLB Tokyo Series shows at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
eBaseball: MLB Pro Spirit will feature a realistic take on the sport of baseball, and will be coming to iOS and Android. The game will feature the ‘Star Watch’ system, which allows eBaseball players to vote for a ballplayer depending on the theme of any given month. Baseball players voted through the system will then show up in the game, complete with power-ups based on their real-world baseball performance.
“We are pleased to announce this strategic partnership with MLB,” said Konami president Hideki Hayakawa in a statement on the press release. “For over 30 years, we have provided entertaining and immersive baseball video game experiences in Japan and are happy to partner with the league to share those experiences with a greater audience.”
“Konami has been innovating video games for nearly half a century and entertaining sports fans with their unique offerings for decades, but with this highly integrated partnership we can help take eBaseball: MLB Pro Spirit to another level and deliver a truly outstanding experience for fans,” said MLB’s deputy commissioner of Business and Media Noah Garden. “Konami’s focus on evolving their consumers’ experience through technology and innovation aligns with our priorities at MLB, making them an ideal partner. We look forward to collaborating throughout the season to promote this fun, new game and highlight our many talented players around the world.”
While eBaseball: MLB Pro Spirit is currently under development for smartphones, no release date for the title has been announced so far. Considering Konami’s and MLB’s plans on how it will handle ongoing baseball seasons, however, we expect the title to hit iOS and Android devices relatively soon.
eBaseball: MLB Pro Spirit will join Konami’s other sports game that primarily targets iOS and Android devices – eFootball. As its name might imply, eFootball focuses on the sport of soccer, and has been under continuous development since its original release all the way back in 2021. This largely stemmed from the game facing plenty of criticism at the time, which ultimately led to Konami issuing an official apology for the state of the game. Originally released on PC and consoles, eFootball is currently also available on iOS and Android.
