The first edition of the series, and the only game to feature the ESPN branding. The game included Web Gems instant replays, K-Zone pitching, Slam Zone hitting, and baserunner mode. The game was released in late February 2005 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. The cover baseball player was Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter. Later that year, World Series 2K5 was released during the 2005 MLB postseason.
In 2005, in response to EA Sports' exclusive license with the National Football League and ESPN prohibiting any NFL 2K games for the foreseeable future, Take-Two Interactive signed an exclusive third-party licensing contract with Major League Baseball (MLB), MLBPA, and MLBAM to produce MLB games. The agreement, which runs from Spring 2006 to 2012, allows for the console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to produce MLB titles for their respective platforms, but bars third party developers such as EA Sports from continuing or developing their own MLB games.
The 2006 edition, Major League Baseball 2K6, had the ESPN presentation and trademarks removed but the commentary team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan remained intact. The game included Inside Edge scouting, Swing Stick hitting, and Payoff Pitching. The game was released on April 3, 2006, for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox; April 10 for the Xbox 360, and April 13 for the PSP. The game was also released for the GameCube, making it the first and only MLB 2K title to ever appear on the system. The cover baseball player was once again Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter.
The 2007 edition, Major League Baseball 2K7, featured a major overhaul on the "next gen" systems, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, featuring a near-photorealistic pitcher/batter interface. For the third year in a row, Derek Jeter was the cover player. The GameCube was dropped as a platform, and the Wii version was not developed. The major leap in gameplay and graphics were largely attributed to the addition of Ben Brinkman to Kush Games; Brinkman had been the lead developer for the MVP Baseball series of games.
Justin Verlander replaced Roy Halladay as the cover athlete. The game was slightly criticized for a copy and paste with a roster update but MLB 2K12 did improve on graphics. For PS2 users it took a step backwards and looked similar to 2K6. 2K12 was the last planned game under the exclusive licensing agreement and in a last-minute decision, they renewed their license with MLB to make a 2013 Game.
Featured on the 2K13 cover is David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays replacing Justin Verlander. The game is almost the same as 2K12, but with some online features missing and updated rosters. However, the game was not received well due to the lack of new features and the removal of league play. This was eventually the last game in the series.[2]
In May 2013, Nexon launched an online spinoff version of MLB 2K named Pro Baseball 2K (Korean: 프로야구 2K) exclusively in South Korea, however the game's servers were shut down in 2014, making it unplayable. In December 2013, 2K Sports said that they will only focus on NBA and WWE Games for now on and have no further plans to make any more MLB Games.