Ropes in Matthew Hayden to create realistic cricket experience in the game

Mumbai May 11, 2020: With the Covid-19 lockdown and cancellation of all cricket matches, Nextwave Multimedia, a leading Mobile Game Company (a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Ltd.) has roped in Matthew Hayden to create an opportunity to bring people closer to the feel of actual cricket at home. Matthew Hayden will offer English commentary with his familiar banter bringing life into the virtual game. He will join Aakash Chopra who recently came on board as a Hindi commentator to cater to 110 Million players.

The WCC franchise gets over 2.5 Million daily users and has 15 Million monthly active users making it the leading cricket game in the world as per App Annie reports, and has been listed by Google’s editor’s choice and Google’s best games. With Matthew Hayden’s first-ever debut as a professional commentator in a game, the company aims to add new users to its user base from Australia, with an already loyal user base in India, UK, US, UAE, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Nextwave Multimedia has always brought forth innovation through their virtual sports offerings which has translated into a 20% surge in sessions and revenue, a 25% increase in new users, and daily active users and over a 100% spike in in-app purchases in the WCC franchise.

Since all live cricket matches have come to a halt, this game aims to bridge the interface between playing cricket on the field and in real life. With Matthew Hayden’s well-rounded perspective the game will address all aspects of the real game including the weather conditions, the ground, the players, every good or dismissal shot, and defense responses, all with detailed graphics.

P R Rajendran, MD and CEO, Nextwave Multimedia and creator of WCC, says, “With no actual cricket being played currently, we hope to fill the gap with commentators like Matthew Hayden and Aakash Chopra to build familiarity and comfort on the game enabling people to come as close to actual cricket as possible.”

Given his debut into the virtual cricket world, Matthew Hayden says, “The gamification space has never been more possible and relevant than during covid-19 when indoor entertainment is a big part of people’s lives. People want to still be involved in the game of cricket and with WCC you get to participate in it as well even if it’s with only your fingers.”

The game enables interaction between cricket players with competitive multiplayer simulation of actual cricket, this also helps build grassroot communities among the audience. Fans can also enjoy Matthew Hayden’s commentary if they only want to watch the game like any other esport, as all the cricket matches are cancelled because of Covid-19, cricket fans have something more to look forward to.

In addition to this, it has updated gameplay features like brand new controls, exciting animations, real-time motions of athletes and professional cricketers, advanced artificial intelligence along with the bilingual commentary feature with celebrity cricketers.

About Nextwave Multimedia

Nextwave Multimedia is a leading Mobile Game Company in India. A subsidiary of Nazara Technologies, India’s leading global gaming and sports media company. Nextwave develops quality casual and multi-player games in the sports genre. Nextwave has developed over 200 casual games for some of the best brands in the world including several Fortune 500 companies.

Games developed by Nextwave have seen over 110 million downloads across various platforms. Nextwave’s World Cricket Championship 2 (WCC2) is currently the No. 1 mobile cricket game in the world. With substantial expertise in developing cricket-based games, Nextwave’s ‘Big Bash Cricket’ is the official game of Cricket Australia’s Big Bash League and “Battle of Chepauk” developed for the Chennai Super Kings, has seen over 8 million downloads, the most for any IPL team.

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