‘Cricket 22’ catches last-minute delay due to sex scandal

'Cricket 22' was delayed just days before launch

Cricket 22 has been delayed by one week, after a sex scandal surrounding Australian cricketer Tim Paine forced developers to change the front cover and other elements within the game.

Although Cricket 22 was meant to launch today (November 25), developer Big Ant Studios announced on November 22 that the game would be pushed back to a December 2 release date (thanks, Kotaku).

Citing “factors beyond our control” and explaining that the studio is in an “unprecedented position”, Big Ant Studios confirmed that both physical and digital editions of the game have been pushed back. The studio says this is to update “the game’s cover art, other visuals and team lists”.

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This delay is due to a scandal surrounding cricket professional Tim Paine, who resigned as Australia’s cricket captain after it became public that he had sent “lewd messages” to a female former colleague back in 2017. Apologising last week, Paine said that “on reflection, my actions in 2017 do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community” and said it was “the right decision for me to stand down as captain, effective immediately”.

Cricket 2022
Cricket 2022. Credit: Big Ant Studios.

As a result, Big Ant Studios has announced that Paine – who was meant to be on the cover of Cricket 22 – has been replaced from his spot on the front of the game. Instead, the studio announced on November 23 that Pat Cummins, vice-captain of the Australian men’s cricket team, will star alongside Meg Lanning, who captains Australia’s women’s cricket team.

Following these announcements, Big Ant Studios confirmed that PlayStation cancelled all PS4 and PS5 pre-orders for Cricket 22, though said that it is “working with PlayStation to enable pre-orders again at the nearest opportunity”.

In other news, Steve Aoki has announced that he will be performing a virtual Sonic-themed concert, which will take place on his birthday. The concert will last for around an hour, and will feature a mix of Aoki’s original songs and remixes of fan-favourite Sonic tracks.

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