International Cricket 2010 Announced News

Following the success of last year's Ashes Cricket 2009, Codemasters has announced International Cricket 2010 for a summer release this year on Xbox 360 and PS3. With this launch window it's likely that the change in name comes from the fact that the 2010/11 Ashes tournament won't start until late November.

Following the demise of Transmission Games (the dev team that worked on Ashes Cricket '09), Codemasters has passed over development responsibilities to Trickstar Games, another Australian studio that apparently has "a team pedigree that includes Ashes Cricket 2009 and the Brian Lara series".

Seeing as the studio was formed in the last few months, we're going to assume that the dev team is built from ex-Transmission Games staffers. Like Transmission Games, Trickstar is also based in Melbourne and was founded towards the end of last year.

International Cricket 2010 appears to offer the same kind of official licenses as last year, as the initial press release has confirmed licenses from Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board. Put another way, outside of the English and Australian teams in the game, it looks likely that the other featured international sides will be unofficial. However, once again a full player editor will be on hand for users to change the trickily named unofficial squads.

New features for the series will include an 'Action Cam' that will "immerse players in all the on-pitch drama", while new 'Power Stick' controls will apparently offer full 360 degree control over power and direction. These kinds of 360 control schemes are promoted quite often in sports games and can end up offering little or no difference, so here's hoping this scheme is the real deal. As with last year's game, both local and online multiplayer modes have been promised.

"We're delighted to partner with Codemasters to develop the next leap forward in cricket gaming," said Tony Parkes, Studio Director, Trickstar games. "Our passionate team of industry veterans, which includes development talent who have worked on the Brian Lara series and Ashes 2009, is determined to deliver the most immersive and intuitive cricket experience for all fans of the sport."