By Dink Delorme
August 17th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Fans religiously waiting for a new iteration of the famed PES franchise will not see a PES 22.
The 26 years of football and competing with the FIFA franchise is over.
Konami shut down the PES and created a new game. The silver lining is that the new game eFootball will replace PES in the fall – it will be free-to-play. What will be free for the fans on start is still unknown, and so are the possible upgrades and items you can buy with in-game purchases.
Major change in the way a brand is being marketed – free to everyone.
Will Konami Just Change the Name of the Game?
Huge Japanese game developer was synonymous with “real” football, while fans of the PES franchise mocked FIFA.
Konami developed a strong brand from the football game and sold a ton of merchandise and millions of PES games. Knowing that Konami produces hundreds of video slots, it’s weird they didn’t make the PES slot game.
The title and monetization are not the only things changed for the new eFootball game. The upcoming football game will be the first for Konami on Unreal Engine 4. So far, they have developed PES on Fox Engine, which they created for the Metal Gear Solid game franchise.
The most significant change in game play will come on a rebuild one-on-one system named Motion Matching, where all players will have unique reactions and some of their signature moves.
What More We Know so Far
The Unreal Engine-powered eFootball will be a free game available for most systems, including PS5, PS4, Xbox Series x, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC. In addition, the game will supposedly have cross-platform play, and after the release, there will be eSports tournaments.
In the game trailer, we saw Lionel Messi speaking about his passion for football. After that, Konami brought more big names to the game and used motion capturing on former Barcelona and Spain national team star Andres Iniesta. Gerard Pique is another player showcased in the trailer.
PES had problems with licencing clubs and players throughout its illustrious past, and for eFootball, we know there will be Manchester United, Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern and Juventus. The Italian club will be exclusively in eFootball and will not appear in Electronic Arts FIFA. Another two Seria A clubs will be solely on eFootball: Napoli and Roma.
There is no information about other clubs and leagues, which leads us to monetization.
What Will Players Get in a Free-to-Play Game?
All biggest licenced clubs will be available at launch to the players. However, some speculate eFootball will come out as a barebone game, and you will have to pay for additional game modes, like career and others.
The game will probably have a battle pass system that offers rewards. For example, match Pass will enable new items or unlocking certain things in-game. In addition, there will be an option to buy the items without finishing challenges.
In the eFootball official reveal trailer, we saw little game play from the match. Still, plenty of close-ups focused on facial expression and natural player movement in various attacking and defending situations.
