Go for a six when Cricket 22 smashes to release this November
Local developer Big Ant Studios have announced that the field is ready and the batter is at the crease as Cricket 22: The Official Game of The Ashes is bringing the summer sport to gamers this November, on most platforms.
The developer is promising that this latest entry into the iconic sport will be "the most robust, substantial game of cricket that fans have ever seen", with improvements across the board, on both presentation and gameplay.
On the presentation side of things, there's a new commentary line-up that will include Michael Atherton, David Gower, Alison Mitchell and Isa Guha as well as Australians Mel Jones and Ian Healy. For those players who look to only enjoy the female side of the sport, all their matches will be commentated on by an all female team, to fully embrace it.
If that line up sounds international, that is because in addition to having Australian and English teams, the game now includes West Indies, New Zealand and Ireland as well, ensuring real images and names of all teams and players can be used.
This means that apart from the Ashes, players will also get men's and women's Big Bash leagues will be included for the first time, as will the Caribbean Premier League and the UK's new Hundred competition.
The game will continue to include more motion capture of players, check out the below behind the scenes video where Melbourne Stars' Elyse Villani and the Hobart Hurricanes' Tayla Vlaeminck go through the motions of a cricket player.
The game is also going to be the first next-gen Cricket title, as it is coming to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 and the studio are aiming to take full advantage of those new systems.
“The number of cricket fans that have been asking us about our next-generation cricket plans has been overwhelming,” Big Ant CEO Ross Symons said. “We’re incredibly excited by what we’re able to bring to the table with Cricket 22. This is our fifth cricket simulation title, and it really represents the cumulation of everything that we’ve learned on this 10-year (and counting) journey.
Finally for those that pre-order the game, they will be granted access to ‘The Nets Challenge’ which lets you get in and play in the nets and a few training games, before the full release.
Speaking of the full release, the game is set to launch on November 25 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, with free upgrade to the next gen consoles, where as Switch players will need to wait until January, no specific date has been listed yet.
