At first glance, Super Mega Baseball 3 doesn't look like a baseball sim. The players are comically proportioned, and the teams are not faithfully replicated MLB lineups. But looks can be deceiving: we called Super Mega Baseball 2 "the best on-field baseball sim on PC" in our 2018 88% review, and Super Mega Baseball 3 is even better.

The series is now in the hands of Electronic Arts, which today announced that it has acquired former indie developer Metalhead Software.

"We are all players of 'Super Mega Baseball' and have long admired the work of the Metalhead team," said Cam Webber, GM of EA Sports. The balance and depth of the gameplay and the unique style of the content make it a lot of fun to play with our friends." We look forward to supporting and investing in the team so they can continue to create more great games that will delight sports fans around the world."

Weber told Polygon that the acquisition is part of EA Sports' "deliberate growth strategy," which includes "re-establishing a presence in baseball and exploring options there." However, Electronic Arts is not trying to make "Super Mega Baseball" an officially licensed MLB game.

"In my opinion, Super Mega Baseball is differentiated enough from MLB The Show that it has a unique position in the marketplace," he said, but acknowledged that there "may be a possibility" that SMB could be used as the basis for another officially licensed baseball game.

As for Metalhead, the studio said in a message on the Super Mega Baseball subreddit that it wants to work on a larger project with greater reach, and Electronic Arts is "the perfect partner to achieve that goal."

"Our relationship with EA was born out of a love of our games, something we want you to share. That means that our studio will continue to exist as Metalhead, with the same team, in the same city, making games in the same spirit as before." However, with EA behind us, we will have access to additional technology, a wealth of expertise, and a wider audience. For us, it's also a great opportunity to grow our local Victoria team and technical department with EA's support, and to work on ambitious new projects."

Moving on to the next project means that future updates to Super Mega Baseball 3 will be small. And Metalhead stressed that the SMB series will continue: "With the expansion of the Super Mega Baseball franchise, there is a lot of baseball on the horizon. 'But I can't give you any specific details just yet. More details to come.