Cricket Australia announces release of Cricket 24, official game for 'The Ashes'

Cricket fans are eagerly waiting for an action-packed summer with a plethora of teams expected to draw an intense rivalry. When we talk of intense rivalries, who can forget the coveted 'The Ashes' summer? England and Australia share some memorable rivalries in the history of the game. Consequently, when it comes to cricket aficionados and gaming buffs, they surely relish not just the on-field action but also out-of-the-field action too.

Yes, with 'The Ashes' just around the corner, a new series between the two cricket giants definitely means a new Ashes gaming ready to hit the shelves. It's time for a new version of the official game with Cricket24, which is expected to be available in June. Notably, this new cricket game is developed by the famous Big Ant Studios. Moreover, if this news was not exciting enough, Cricket Australia have partnered with the studio giant for the game named, 'Cricket24: Official Game Of The Ashes.'

Meanwhile, it is not the first time that the game developer and cricketing board have partnered with each other, as the former has also developed games based on the Big Bash League (BBL), Australia's premier T20 tournament, which received several million downloads across Android and iOS app stores.

It is worth mentioning that ahead of the previous Ashes series which was hosted by Australia, Cricket22 was released which garnered immense success. This boosted the gaming venture to develop and release another instalment just when the two team's rivalry will be at its peak. The most fascinating part about the game is that this time, the cricket game will have a refined fielding system along with being the most realistic representation of a video game.

The game will also boast of a full cross platforms functionality, whereby one can play against any user regardless of the device they are playing from. Furthermore, the Career Mode of the game has been enhanced with detailed cut scenes to let the gamers dive deep contextually coupled with press conferences, unique commentary and team training sessions, respectively.

Apart from these major overhauls, the cricket game will also consist of a Pro Mode, whereby, gamers can collect their favourite cricket stars from all over the globe to build their own dream team just like in FIFA's game series, Ultimate Team. For the icing on the cake, Cricket 24 will also have T20 teams from various coveted leagues around the world which will also have some Indian T20 team franchises as well. Notably, this league system was first introduced in the Cricket 22 game. The famous leagues which were featured in the game were KFC BBL, Weber WBBL, The Hundred tournament and the Caribbean Premier League.

We’ve been working incredibly hard with cricket boards all over the world: Big Ant CEO Ross Symons

Now, speaking of other key elements of the game, more than 200 players from major cricket-playing nations have been included in the game along with teams like Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies and Ireland. Moreover, Ant Studios have promised to include more teams in the future ahead. Along with that, the game also comprises 50 sophistically detailed cricket stadiums.

Amid all these developments of the Cricket24 game, the CEO of Ant Studios, Ross Symons, shared his views on the development of the game and how the cricket fans have received this news of a new instalment release.

"The passion and excitement shown by our fans at the prospect of another game being released before the upcoming Ashes has been overwhelming," Big Ant CEO Ross Symons said as per cricket.com.au.

"We’ve been working incredibly hard with cricket boards all over the world to bring what is the deepest, most realistic video game representation of the sport ever. I believe Cricket24 will bring something special for cricket fans all over the world. It is the first truly global cricket video game," Symons concluded.

Regarding where cricket fans can get their hands on this game, for Nintendo Switch users, Cricket24 will be made available in November later this year. Meanwhile, the fans who will purchase this game via PlayStation 4 and Xbox platforms, will receive a free upgrade when they buy the latest generation of hardware for the game.