Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson Among Star Cricketers to Appear in the First Large-Scale, Officially Licensed Mobile Cricket Game
The World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) through its commercial affiliate, Winners Alliance, today announced a partnership with Jetsynthesys-owned Nautilus Mobile to create the first large-scale, officially licensed mobile simulation game in professional cricket history. Through this groundbreaking partnership, Real Cricket™, the most popular mobile cricket simulation game in the world, will feature the names, images, and likenesses of more than 250 professional cricketers, as granted by Winners Alliance.
Real Cricket™ players will be able to compete as their favorite cricketers, including a wide variety of Australian players, England’s Joe Root and Ben Stokes; New Zealand’s Kane Williamson; South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada; and the West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Andre Russell; along with hundreds of other cricketing stars. By granting their rights through Winners Alliance, cricketers will benefit from incremental off-the-field revenues and increased visibility among Real Cricket’s™ hundreds of millions of global users.
“We take immense pride in establishing that Real Cricket is the world’s most popular mobile cricket simulation game,” said Anuj Mankar, Director & CEO of Nautilus Mobile. “We are always looking for new ways to enhance the gaming experience for our ultra passionate users. By adding the likenesses of these global real cricket stars via the WCA and Winners Alliance, we’re bringing a level of authenticity and excitement that can’t be found anywhere else, making Real Cricket an unrivaled experience for cricket fans and gamers worldwide. As per our age old slogan and the team’s belief, it truly is ‘Time to get Real.’”
“This is an incredible opportunity for us cricketers and breaks new ground in our sport,” said Mitchell Starc, Australian cricketer. “It’s amazing to see the WCA looking out for us and helping us unlock these unique possibilities by collectivizing our commercial rights through our new partners at Winners Alliance. We’ve seen how athletes in other sports have benefited from similar initiatives, and we’re excited to see how Real Cricket and future partnerships will drive value for athletes and elevate cricket as a whole.”
Since launching the franchise in 2014, Nautilus Mobile has released various Real Cricket™ titles, amassing over 350 million downloads globally and attracting more than one million daily active users on both iOS and Android devices. Users can compete in a variety of game modes and competition formats including quick matches, international and domestic tournaments, 1v1 multiplayer, play with friends multiplayer, and more.
“We are thrilled to work with Nautilus Mobile to bring this groundbreaking, officially licensed opportunity to cricketers affiliated to WCA, increasing their off-field earning potential, visibility, and fan engagement,” said Tom Moffat, Chief Executive, WCA. “By leveraging their collective global rights, this is the first time in professional cricket history that hundreds of players worldwide can participate in a collaboration like this. This partnership is a great example of the innovative, player-centric initiatives we aim to pioneer with our partners at Winners Alliance, and also driving new value into the cricket ecosystem.”
“As the first large-scale group licensing deal in international cricket history, this partnership is a monumental step for the WCA and its athletes,” said Eric Winston, President, Winners Alliance. “Aligning with a best-in-class company like Nautilus Mobile underscores our commitment to generating athlete-centric partnerships that will drive meaningful value to cricketers at scale.”
In January of 2024, Winners Alliance and the WCA forged an exclusive, long-term partnership to protect and optimize the global commercial rights of cricketers, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports. Among its earliest priorities, Winners Alliance is building a sustainable group licensing program encompassing video games, trading cards, collectibles, and various related categories, maximizing off-field revenue potential for cricketers and directly funding the WCA’s advocacy efforts.
