Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer has had a storied past as a sports simulation game since the series started in 1995. Today, the series steps into a new direction, one that rebrands its entire image and changes its model. As the title says, Pro Evolution Soccer, also known as PES, has been rebranded to eFootball and will now be a free-to-play title instead of a fully priced AAA game as the previous games have been listed.
Thanks to the power of the Unreal Engine, eFootball boasts sizeable improvements from its predecessor with a revamped animation system and game controls. This means that for the first time since 2014 the series will move away from the FOX Engine. The game will launch with local matches which include nine renowned clubs. In mid-to-late Autumn the online league will be added alongside a Team Building Mode and a Battle Pass-style Match Pass system. Long-term fans of PES will recognize the voices of Peter Drury and Jim Beglin, who will be returning as the English-language commentators for eFootball.
eFootball will be out later this year on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC with iOS and Android versions to release sometime after. There is no comment about a potential Nintendo Switch version at this time. The game will launch with cross-generation play (PlayStation 4 vs PlayStation 5) and full cross-play (PlayStation vs Xbox) across all versions will be added at a later date. Due to the new free-to-play model, eFootball won’t launch as a fully stocked football experience. But there is already a roadmap for future content on the way.
Konami is certainly taking risks with eFootball, dropping the now well-known Pro Evolution Soccer title in place of a simpler name and going free-to-play to bring the game to more players while also jumping to a new engine for enhanced animations. This is not all too surprising though considering a barebone always-online free-to-play version of PES is usually released a few months after launch anyway. But the big thing to consider here is how the game can jump to mobile devices with cross-play enabled. And what that will mean for matches between players on high-end next-gen systems and on an older Android phone. As per IGN’s coverage, the gameplay reveal, along with additional details, will come in late August, which could answer a few concerns that players have. Let us know what you think of eFootball down in the comments.
