OOTP 26 Public Beta Patch: 26.6.73

[Matt Arnold]

Dog days of summer are here, and time for the next patch cycle to begin.

This patch, 26.6.73, focuses heavily on player development and roster AI, cleaning up some items and giving a more balanced long term sim.

Use this at your own risk! Please back up important league files before loading them in this beta.

Changelist 26.6.73

• Player Development
  **Adjusted BABIP development
  **Adjusted aging speed ratings
  **Adjusted SP development (slower to start, develops later)
  **Pitchers slower to develop, but will continue to develop later (avoids peaking at 25 and then falling off)
  **Improved College player development, increased starting ratings
  **General balance of development/aging
  **Balance pass through general player creation and update
  **Adjusted new standard game development
• Roster Updates
  **All players from the 2025 draft added and rated
  **Most 2025 UDFA signings added and rated
  **Lots of new DSL players added and rated
  **Many complex level players ratings adjusted
  **Majority of players at the DSL and complex level who are actually prospects have been rated to properly reflect their prospect status
  **Lots of other prospect ratings adjusted
  **Quite a few MLB player ratings adjusted based on 2025 performance
• Improved minor league roster management
• Updated minor league roster logic to release decent prospects less
• Hide coach retire/delete if hide advanced options selected
• Fixed international amateur free agent period handling for custom dates
• Fixed coloring in lists with overall ratings disabled
• Live Start: Fixed some roster issues
• Live Start: Improved injury handling, injured players on rosters
• Adjusted historical stamina calculations for swing SP
• Adjusted RP contract demands
• PT: Hide the clock in tournaments/drafts when score is hidden
• PT: Fixed pack opening settings not updating
• PT: Fixed clubhouse card list variant relations showing wrong points
• PT: Fixed slow sort/filter release timestamp column
• PT: Fixed Fastspring key redemption not updating packs
• PT: Changed universe screen to start in the middle
• PT: Fixed variants display in choice packs and drafts
• Misc roster updated, misc bug fixes, UI fixes

Important info for online leagues: This patch should be compatible in online leagues.

How to access the beta on Steam:

• Quit OOTP 26 if it's running.
• Open Steam client -> Library
• Right click on Out of the Park Baseball 26
• Click on "Properties" at the bottom of the menu
• Click on the beta tab. Here, enter the following code: ootp26betapt
• Click on "Check code"
• Open the beta pull-down and select "publicbeta".
• Close the Steam client (Steam menu -> Exit)
• Open the client again. It should then download the beta build.

Update Info for our webstore customers: To apply the update, simply download the setup file and install it over your current installation. There is no need to uninstall or unlicense your current copy! However, you should quit the game before installing it, of course. Updates always contain all the changes from previous updates. Saved games are compatible between different versions.

Download link for Windows PC (Fastspring Webstore Version):
Main server: PC Installer
Mirror Link: PC Installer
Here's a PC installer (Fastspring) that installs into a single folder, which is useful for external HDs for example. Or for creating a second test install of the game, so you can try the patch out without the risk of messing up your main install of the game if something is wrong in the patch:
PC Single Folder Installer

Download link for MacOS (FastSpring):
Main Server: MacOS Installer
Mirror Link: MacOS Installer

Thanks,
Matt + The OOTP Team

[Paul Reuschel's Mustache]

Thank you!

[Catchers Interference]

It appears All-Star selections for this year are still not present in Live Start games... sigh.

[CBLCardinals]

Originally Posted by Catchers Interference

It appears All-Star selections for this year are still not present in Live Start games... sigh.

This has been an issue for forever unfortunately.

Matt/team can you enable ability for users to “add” the awards icons for players? I see no way to do this as a user.

[TheSpeakerfortheDead]

Have you considered making these notes just even slightly more meaningful for your player base?

When you say something like "Adjusted BABIP development" you could add a single sentence to explain how and why. It doesn't need to be exact but it doesn't help your players adjust in any way when you don't give them even a general direction.

[maayrts]

Were RP contracts addressed?

[uruguru]

Thanks for your constant attention to this game

[Catchers Interference]

Originally Posted by CBLCardinals

This has been an issue for forever unfortunately.

Matt/team can you enable ability for users to “add” the awards icons for players? I see no way to do this as a user.

You're doing the lord's work, man. The community appreciates you a ton. It shouldn't be this hard to update.

Matt, a response on why it is still an issue would be appreciated by the community. The All-Star game was over three weeks ago, and the rosters were announced over a month ago. Unacceptable IMO.

[CBLCardinals]

Originally Posted by Catchers Interference

You're doing the lord's work, man. The community appreciates you a ton. It shouldn't be this hard to update.

Matt, a response on why it is still an issue would be appreciated by the community. The All-Star game was over three weeks ago, and the rosters were announced over a month ago. Unacceptable IMO.

Thanks for the feedback!


I’d also love for Matt to add in ability to export future draft classes, export injury data, and export injury proneness for different body areas. All of these are a major PITA to update in roster sets since we cannot export

I use my own large database with my ratings & potentials I use to push in information with update queries…..and unless I can export things like above I CANNOT update efficiently.

Matt help a brother out man!!

Help me help you.

[Matt Arnold]

Originally Posted by TheSpeakerfortheDead

Have you considered making these notes just even slightly more meaningful for your player base?

When you say something like "Adjusted BABIP development" you could add a single sentence to explain how and why. It doesn't need to be exact but it doesn't help your players adjust in any way when you don't give them even a general direction.

Most of the changes, we move things around a little in various directions. It can be hard to describe. In this case, we made it a little faster to develop overall.

Originally Posted by maayrts

Were RP contracts addressed?

I believe there were some changes that made it in. It obviously won't fix anything already in progress, but hopefully new AI contracts don't go out of bounds anymore.

Originally Posted by Catchers Interference

You're doing the lord's work, man. The community appreciates you a ton. It shouldn't be this hard to update.

Matt, a response on why it is still an issue would be appreciated by the community. The All-Star game was over three weeks ago, and the rosters were announced over a month ago. Unacceptable IMO.

I'm not actually positive we get the all-star game data from our stats provider. We can look into that, and see if there's a way to note that on the player records.

[maayrts]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

I believe there were some changes that made it in. It obviously won't fix anything already in progress, but hopefully new AI contracts don't go out of bounds anymore.

thank you!

[TheSpeakerfortheDead]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

Most of the changes, we move things around a little in various directions. It can be hard to describe. In this case, we made it a little faster to develop overall.



I believe there were some changes that made it in. It obviously won't fix anything already in progress, but hopefully new AI contracts don't go out of bounds anymore.



I'm not actually positive we get the all-star game data from our stats provider. We can look into that, and see if there's a way to note that on the player records.

Right but that's my point. Without your clarification here it's useless. That's all I'm asking for when notes get written up is just one sentence explanations.Almost all the patch notes about this game say nothing.

[bajenroma]

I think that there is something off with how the AI handles team options.

Did a simulation to check how free agent contracts were after the update.

Baltimore traded for Sandy Alcantara ahead of 2026 season.
He pitched decent with 2.2 war. Baltimore voided the 21m option. Then gave a QO worth 20,35m which he declined. He then signed a 5 year contract with AAV of 32m with Miami in free agency.

I have seen some bad team option voids in earlier patches, but this is the first one with a QO offered after.

[uti-pontus-hage]

Simmed 10 years in to the future. Contracts look much better!
Some relievers with high salaries but exclusively previous starters at the tail end of their careers.

[omg_pwnasaurus]

This looks like an awesome update! Thanks to the team!

[ChrisG]

Appreciate you guys! Looks like a great update.

[crashsports1]

problem I noticed

1) the "unretire person" button is now always there, even with active employed staff, and with commish mode off

2) when I go to fire James Cooper of the NYY minor league team, it doesn't let me. It asks me if I want to and accepts the confirmation, but he stays showing up there

3) Matthew Johnson- I accidentally clicked "Unretire person" I think (he was on the available staff free agents page) and then it duplicated him. just to make sure I saw what happened correctly, I attempted it again, and it duplicated him a second time.

[johndoe8865]

From those of y'all who have been dealing with all of the issues in the single player mode this year;

Are we close to being able to really dig in and start a long term save?

[uti-pontus-hage]

Have you done something to the amount of international players reaching the major league?
In my test sim 31 % av major leaguers (secondary rosters) are international players. Compared to over 40 % in previous versions.
Just a coincidence?

[hibees70]

Do you have to start a new game for the Player Development changes to be in effect or will they incorporate into an existing game?