The suggested investment follows on from reports that LightFury Games has obtained the ICC’s official gaming rights for mobile, PC and console platforms worldwide. Should the deal proceed as reported, eCricket could become the ICC’s official cricket game and thus give the forthcoming title a significantly greater international profile. The fact is especially important since the ICC has been aiming to increase its involvement in the gaming and digital entertainment sectors. In 2025 the cricket governing body approved an Invitation to Tender for its video gaming rights, thus allowing gaming companies to create new digital experiences based on ICC cricket.
For LightFury Games, the reported agreement with ICC could prove to be one of the most significant milestones yet for eCricket. The studio, which is based in Bengaluru, was established in 2024 and is developing the game as a large-scale cricket title with an emphasis on real-time multiplayer gameplay. The studio hopes to produce a cricket gaming experience on a scale comparable to that of major football franchises like EA Sports FC. Although cricket enjoys a vast global following, the sport has so far failed to generate even one video game franchise with the same level of worldwide influence as some of football’s most prominent titles.
Also Read Rohit Sharma Joins LightFury Games as Investor Ahead of eCricket Launch
The cricket world already has a number of well-known names associated with the company. Among the cricketers who have supported the studio are MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja, while Rohit Sharma has also recently become an investor in LightFury Games. The players are expected to appear as playable characters in eCricket.
The company has likewise created a large number of licensed players for the game. Earlier, LightFury had announced that eCricket would include more than 600 officially licensed international cricketers, thus giving players a wide variety of real world stars from various cricketing nations. The fact that LightFury has ICC rights could mean that the roster becomes even more significant since the company would have official access to ICC competitions and associated cricket properties and could thus potentially develop game content around some of the sport’s major international tournaments.
The report states that the rights include mobile, PC and console games worldwide; it would be especially significant to have rights on all three platforms since cricket gaming has usually been divided between titles aimed mainly at mobile users and those designed primarily for PC or console players.
This timing also occurs as LightFury is still working on getting eCricket ready for its forthcoming launch. The company has already secured substantial funding for the development of the game, comprising an $11 million pre-Series A round and with investors such as V3 Ventures, MIXI, Blume Ventures and various other backers.
Artificial intelligence is also included in LightFury’s development strategy; the company has stated that its technological approach is designed to help cut down on development time and at the same time enable the team to create a large-scale cricket experience with detailed gameplay and presentation.
For the ICC, setting up a gaming studio could offer a new means of accessing younger audiences and of extending the value of international cricket beyond ordinary broadcasts and live events. Gaming also enables fans to take a more interactive approach when engaging with teams, players and tournaments. It should be pointed out that at the time of the Moneycontrol report neither the ICC nor LightFury Games had made a public confirmation of the investment. The report stated that the two parties were in advanced negotiations, while it was reported that LightFury had obtained the global gaming rights.
Should the agreement in question be finalised, it could prove to be a significant development for cricket gaming and might provide eCricket with the official support it needs in order to compete on a much bigger stage. The fact that professional cricketers are involved, together with hundreds of licensed players and now the reported link with the ICC’s global gaming rights, has meant that LightFury’s project is becoming one of the most closely watched of the upcoming cricket games.
For players the main issue will finally be whether eCricket can achieve its ambition. Although the link with the ICC and the fact that it has well-known cricket figures does lead to high expectations, it is the game’s gameplay, its online experience and the amount of long-term content that will decide if it can establish a lasting community.
At this stage the reported discussions between ICC and the deal for global gaming rights could represent a significant advance for LightFury Games and eCricket, with further details to come as the agreement progresses.
