Big Ant Studios and Nacon have today confirmed Cricket 24 will launch in June on PC and consoles, just in time for the 2023 Ashes Series. The exception is the Switch version, which is due to arrive in November 2023.
Cricket 24 is being pitched as having “more licenses that any cricket game ever.” Major cricket nations including Australia, England, West Indies, New Zealand, and Ireland will be included, with apparently more to be announced. Cricket 24 will also feature The Ashes, the BBL and WBBL, The Hundred, the Caribbean Premier League, and an unspecified number of “professional Indian T20 teams” that are also yet to be announced. There will be over 50 official stadiums.
A new mode called Pro Team will allow players to build cricket dream teams of global superstars to compete in challenges and play online, and appears inspired by EA’s success with FIFA Ultimate Team.
Cricket 24 promises improved Ashes atmosphere, with Ashes press conferences and bespoke Ashes commentary to accompany the matches. The all-new fielding has been described as a “complete overhaul” of the existing system. A new mode called Pro Team will allow players to build cricket dream teams of global superstars to compete in challenges and play online, and appears inspired by EA’s success with FIFA Ultimate Team. Cricket 24 will support cross-play multiplayer, and those who buy the PS4 or Xbox One versions will be able to upgrade to the current generation version if and when necessary.
“The passion and excitement shown by our fans at the prospect of another game being released before the upcoming Ashes has been overwhelming,” said Big Ant CEO Ross Symons in a statement. “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.”
No clips or screenshots of the game were released alongside the announcement.
Luke is Games Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. You can chat to him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.