Xbox 360 virtual baseball fans rejoice, because 2K Sports has announced that it is releasing MLB 2K13 on March 5 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
According to a press release from the company, 2K Sports parent publisher Take-Two Interactive has reached a new agreement with Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, and Major League Baseball Advanced Media.
The deal ends months of speculation that Take-Two Interactive would not renew its deal with the MLB and therefore leaving Xbox 360 gamers without a professional baseball simulation for the 2013 season.
"We'd like to thank our league partners for their support in helping us reach an agreement to bring back MLB 2K," said 2K Sports vice president of marketing Jason Argent in a statement. "We know fans are extremely passionate about the MLB 2K series and the Perfect Game Challenge."
The company also announced that Tampa Bay Rays' pitcher, David Price has been selected as the cover athlete for MLB 2K13. The 20 game winner was recently named the American League Cy Young Award winner after posting a league-best 2.56 ERA.
Price is the third consecutive reigning Cy Young Award winner to grace the cover of an MLB 2K game, according to the company. He follows fellow Cy Young winners, MLB 2K12 cover athlete Justin Verlander and MLB 2K11 cover athlete Roy Halladay.
"It's a dream come true to appear on the cover of MLB 2K13," Price said. "I'm looking forward to working with the 2K Sports team again, and welcoming another skilled gamer into 'The Perfect Club.'"
Take-Two Interactive also noted the return of its Perfect Game Challenge, 2K Sports' $1 million competition for gamers who "exhibiting the highest caliber of skill in throwing a perfect game in MLB 2K."
According to Take-Two, Last year's Perfect Game Challenge had a record number of participants, with nearly 1 million attempts made and more than 1,000 perfect games pitched by gamers. 2K Sports will announce the details of this year's contest at a later date.
So are you happy that MLB 2K will return for at least one more season? Let us know what you think in the comment section below...