Cricket fans looking to get in on the action can now step onto the virtual pitch with the brand-new simulation game Cricket 22 by developer Big Ant Studios and publisher Nacon. The newest installment of the series is jam-packed with new licenses, bringing the world of cricket onto the consoles. From the legendary The Ashes competition between Australia and England to the tropical Caribbean Premier League and the brand-new English tournament The Hundred, fans find the longest list of licensed competitions and teams yet. Big Ant claims Cricket 22 is “the most robust, substantial game of cricket that fans have ever seen.”
Finally, cricket has got its own full-fledged simulation game. The new title is now available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and will be coming to Nintendo Switch in January 2022.
Cricket got its full-fledged simulation game
Sports sims have long been a favorite among sports enthusiasts and gamers. The genre is mainly dominated by FIFA, Madden NFL, and NBA2K, bringing soccer, American football, and basketball onto our consoles to step onto the virtual field. While these represent three of the most famous team sports in the world, cricket has so far been widely underrepresented in the world of video games – even though cricket is the second most-watched sport in the world, estimated to be watched by roughly 2 billion fans around the globe. With that, it can easily hold the candle to other popular team sports.
While video game companies haven’t tapped into this much yet, bookmakers have long recognized the trend, offering fans plenty of options to place bets on cricket tournaments around the world. The number of online bookmakers available is ever-increasing, making it harder for fans to find the right provider to place their wagers. Experts, however, have curated a list of the best cricket betting sites for 2021 to make it easier for fans to bet on some of the most important matches, leagues, and tournaments in a safe environment. One of the most popular cricket tournaments is The Ashes series, played between Australia and England, which takes place throughout December and January this season – and now fans can’t just watch and bet, they can also play along virtually, thanks to Cricket 22.
While American developer and publisher EA Sports already dominates the video game sims for soccer, American football, and hockey, French publisher Nacon is now planning on taking the lead for cricket games. In this endeavor, they have recently acquired Big Ant Studios, the Australian studio behind the sports games Ashes Cricket and Cricket 19 (among others). With the newly released title Cricket 22, Nacon and Big Ant have ramped up their game and released a full-fledged cricket sim that is supposedly bigger, better, and more extensive than any previous cricket game.
A long list of licensed cricket tournaments and teams
This time around, the simulation game brings with it a wide array of licenses, tournaments, and teams from around the globe. Cricket 22 now features some of the biggest tournaments: players can jump into the action of Australia’s T20 Big Bash competition, or fly to the tropics and prove their cricket skills at the Caribbean Premier League. The game also features the innovative new competition, The Hundred, held in England and Wales, and the perennial, highly popular competition between Australia and England, The Ashes.
With that, the licenses Nacon and Big Ant secured for the new title have massively been expanded. Players now also get the chance to step onto the international field and play any of the fully-licensed national teams from Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, and the West Indies. What’s more, no matter if you are looking to play a men’s or women’s team, you can find both represented equally throughout all of Cricket 22. With a star-studded, all-new commentary team, including names the likes of Michael Atherton, Mel Jones, and Alison Mitchell, every maneuver on the pitch will be commented on and analyzed in great depth like never before. Thanks to new bowling and fielding controls, a new net mode, and improved career mode as well as state-of-the-art real-time ray tracing and overhauled visuals, Cricket 22 does not fail to impress.
Big Ant Studios and Nacon have put together a masterpiece of a sim video game, bringing the beloved sport of cricket onto our consoles. It might just be the full-fledged, immersive, and visually realistic cricket sim the world has been waiting for.
