The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reportedly in advanced talks to invest in Bengaluru-based gaming startup LightFury Games. According to a Moneycontrol report, the deal is said to give LightFury the official ICC gaming rights across mobile, PC and console platforms globally.
If this gets finalized, the agreement will make LightFury one of the few gaming studios to secure official rights across all major gaming platforms simultaneously. The startup is currently developing E-cricket, a high budget AAA cricket title which aims to deliver a multiplayer experience similar to globally successful football franchises such as EA Sports FC. However, ICC and LightFury Games have not confirmed the reported discussions.
For the unversed, the LightFury Games was introduced in 2024 and is led by former Unacademy executive Karan Shroff, gaming industry veteran Anurag Banerjee, and former Tencent Games executive Tina Balachandran. The startup has already bagged investments from several prominent Indian cricketers including MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja. These players are expected to feature as playable characters in the upcoming game.
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The company has also secured investment from Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, Mixi and Times Internet, while angel investors include CRED founder Kunal Shah and Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal. LightFury has reportedly raised around $20 million so far.
The reported partnership comes at the time when ICC is looking to hold the cricket’s presence in the gaming ecosystem and expand fan engagement beyond the traditional broadcasting. The governing body had invited bids for an official cricket game, attracting interest from major companies including Electronic Arts, Krafton, Nazara Technologies, Dream Cricket and Big Ant Studios.
The LightFury has also partnered with Winners Alliance to obtain licensing rights for more than 600 professional cricketers, including international stars such as Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Pat Cummins, Jos Buttler, Travis Head and Chris Gayle. The company has previously said it plans to launch E-Cricket on Android and iOS in 2027 before expanding to PC and consoles.