Cricket 22 developer forced to delay game over Australia Test captain sexting scandal

The developer of Cricket 22 was forced to delay the game after the Australia Test captain stepped down over historical investigation into texts sent to a colleague.

Melbourne-based Big Ant Studios said "factors beyond our control" mean it has to update the cover art, in-game assets and team lists, and must now revoke a critical day one patch.

Cricket 22 was due out 25th November. This new patch won't be released until 2nd December, which means all versions of Cricket 22 are delayed by a week to that date.

"This is the first time Big Ant Studios have ever had to delay a game release," the studio said in a statement, "but we find ourselves in an unprecedented position."

An important statement on #Cricket22. Please share widely. pic.twitter.com/NE5YizsgHK

Big Ant Studios' statement does not mention Australia Test captain Tim Paine, but there is no doubt the delay has to do with the ongoing sexting scandal around the cricketer.

On Friday, Paine stepped down as Australia Test captain before the Ashes over a historical investigation into sexually explicit texts to a female colleague.

Paine admitted he had sent messages to a co-worker at Cricket Tasmania in 2017 that led to a misconduct investigation after she made allegations against him in 2018.

He said he was "exonerated", but announced he was stepping down as he had learned his texts were set to be revealed publicly.

Cricket 22 originally featured Paine and Australian women's captain Meg Lanning on the cover. Paine has now been replaced by Pat Cummins, vice-captain of the Australian men's cricket team.

To ensure the highly anticipated #Cricket22 game gets to fans by 2nd December, Big Ant Studios are proud to announce that Pat Cummins, vice-captain of the Australian men’s cricket team, will be on the Cricket 22 digital cover alongside Australian women’s team captain Meg Lanning. pic.twitter.com/NCCcvqNC5r

Will you support Eurogamer?

We want to make Eurogamer better, and that means better for our readers - not for algorithms. You can help! Become a supporter of Eurogamer and you can view the site completely ad-free, as well as gaining exclusive access to articles, podcasts and conversations that will bring you closer to the team, the stories, and the games we all love. Subscriptions start at £3.99 / $4.99 per month.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7psHRqJ6apZWne6%2Bx02iaq6GToLK1eZFrZJ2dppq5sLzEq2Sfp6KYsqV506hknZ2clsZus8CmnGanppq%2Fbq3UrKurmZyerm7AxKyrZpuRpcGitc1mqp6wpJ67qHnSnJinnJGh