Cricket 22 is the latest iteration of the popular cricket video game franchise from Big Ant Studios. It will be the first game in the series to be available for next generation consoles: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X. Cricket 22 will have Pat Cummins and Meg Lanning – captains of Australia’s men’s and women’s teams respectively – on the cover. Although it wasn’t always like that. Tim Paine, the former captain of the team, was replaced by Cummins on the cover of the game due to his involvement in a recent scandal.
Big Ant Studios described Cricket 22 as the studio’s “most detailed cricket simulation”. The game is being released in time for the next Ashes – a biennial test series played between Australia and England – taking place in Australia this year. As such, it is officially titled Cricket 22: The Official Game of The Ashes.
In addition to PS5 and Series S/X, Cricket 22 will also be available to play on PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest title in the Cricket franchise.
Cricket 22 release date
Previously scheduled to launch on November 25th, Cricket 22 will now launch on December 2nd at 00:01 AM according to your local time zone. Speaking about the delay, Big Ant CEO Ross Symons said that “there was a critical Day 1 patch that players will need to enjoy the full Cricket 22 experience which consequently needed to be revoked”. Symons further added that physical and digital copies will be delayed.
The last minute delay of Cricket 22 was also due to a scandal involving Australian cricketer Tim Paine. Paine resigned as captain of the men’s cricket team after he sent obscene messages to a fellow member of the women’s cricket team in 2017. He was also featured on the game’s original cover, but Big Ant Studios had to re-develop “the cover art, other visuals and team rosters”.
Cricket 22 is also being released for the Nintendo Switch, but it won’t be released until January 2022. This will make the popular cricket video game franchise one of the few major sports titles on the handheld console.
Is Cricket 22 on Steam?
The latest Cricket title from Big Ant Studios is listed on Steam. At the time of writing, the early access game – a demo version of sorts – is available and comes with a note that it’s not yet complete. You can order the Cricket 22 for Rs. 2,999 on Steam to get early access.
Cricket 22 price, pre-order
Cricket 22 costs Rs. 3,999 in India and AUD 99.95 (approximately Rs. 5,350) across all platforms. Players who pre-order the game will receive Cricket 22 Nets coaching, batting and bowling mini-games, and online leaderboards.
The game is also available for pre-order and can be purchased from Cricket Australia’s online store for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox for AUD 99.95. It is listed as currently unavailable on the Microsoft Store, with a value of Rs. Priced at 3,999 on the main page. There is also no Cricket 22 listing on the Nintendo Store as of now.
Australia Women in Cricket 22
Photo credit: Big Ant Studios
Big Ant Studios also mentioned that Cricket 22 was available for pre-order on the PlayStation Store but had to be removed due to delay. Additionally, Big Ant CEO Symons he said he is not confident it will return to Sony’s games store for pre-order, but said, “I’m confident it will go on sale at 00:01 on December 2nd in your local time zone”. However, the game is still listed on the PlayStation Store.
Players can pre-order the physical edition in India through Game Loot, Games The Shop and Prepaid Game Card.
How can I download Cricket 22?
Cricket 22 will be released on December 2nd and players can pre-load the game before then so they can enjoy the game as soon as it launches. However, so far, only Xbox has announced that the game is available for pre-load on Xbox consoles. Players should note that pre-loading the game will not give them early access to the game.
Cricket 22 PC system requirements
Steam mentions the minimum and recommended requirements for Cricket 22 for PC players.
Cricket 22 minimum system requirements for PC
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 3/Intel Core i3
- GPU: AMD Radeon R7 260/ Nvidia GTX 650Ti
- RAM: 8GB
- RAM: 2GB
- DirectX: 11
Cricket 22 PC recommended system requirements
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5/Intel Core i5
- GPU: AMD Radeon 5500 XT/ Nvidia RTX 2060
- RAM: 16GB
- VRAM: TBD
- DirectX: 12
Furthermore, gamers would also need a minimum of 45GB of free internal storage on their PCs running at least Windows 10.
Melbourne Cricket Ground at Cricket 22
Photo credit: Big Ant Studios
cricket game 22
As for the gameplay, Big Ant Studios announced that it has worked on fan feedback to improve the franchise.
- New bowling and fielding controls that will “refine” what Cricket 19 fans were used to
- Story-based career mode, putting you in charge on and off the field. You’ll have control over training, injuries, press conferences and much more.
- New commentary team featuring Michael Atherton, Ian Healy, Mel Jones, Alison Mitchell and David Gower. Jones and Mitchell will lead the women’s commentary for the women’s game, which is getting the same treatment as the men’s game, Big Ant claims.
- Improved accessibility, with revamped tutorials to make it easier for beginning cricket players.
As a handheld console, gameplay on Nintendo Switch is expected to be slightly different from PC, PlayStation or Xbox. As Cricket 22 was made with next-gen consoles in mind, it’s safe to assume that it will come with better graphics on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X compared to other platforms.
cricket 22 review
There has been no announcement of an embargo on the Cricket 22 review. That said, the first reviews should be available by the time of release.