R.B.I. Baseball 16, the third edition of MLB Advanced Media's revival of the old-school baseball series, will be released digitally March 29 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the company announced today.
The downloadable console versions of R.B.I. 16 will be available globally, which is a first in the history of MLB Advanced Media's stewardship of the R.B.I. Baseball franchise. The worldwide distribution will "more than double" the regions in which the game is available, the company said in a press release.
One week later, on April 5, retail copies of R.B.I. 16 on PS4 and Xbox One will arrive in the U.S. (at Best Buy, GameStop, Target, Toys R Us and Wal-Mart) and Canada (at the same stores, minus Target). R.B.I. Baseball 14 and R.B.I. Baseball 15 were available only as downloadable titles, making this physical release another first for the revived series.
It also means that R.B.I. 16's cover athletes will actually see their faces on a box in a store, instead of merely in images on a digital storefront. As announced in January, the game's cover will feature Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts in the U.S. and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman in Canada. You can see the cover artwork below.
In the U.S., R.B.I. 16 will cost $19.99 on consoles and PC, and $4.99 on mobile devices. In Canada, it will sell for CA$29.99 on consoles and PC, and CA$6.99 on mobile. Pricing in other regions will also vary depending on the local currency.
R.B.I. 16 is also in development on Android, iOS, Mac and Windows PC, although MLB Advanced Media has yet to announce release dates for those platforms. Once again, an R.B.I. Baseball title is the only MLB-licensed baseball game available on an Xbox console. For more on R.B.I. 16, check out the gameplay trailer above.
U.S. cover art for R.B.I. Baseball 16, featuring Mookie Betts
Canadian cover art for R.B.I. Baseball 16, featuring Marcus Stroman