Konami axe PES franchise - with new "eFootball" title free to play

By Alastair PusinelliEditor-in-Chief

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In the biggest shake-up to the football game world in memory, developers Konami have decided to axe the PES franchise.

PES 2022 will not exist - but instead, a brand new free-to-play title called "eFootball".

eFootball Trailer

Release Date

There is no concrete release date for eFootball just yet - but Konami has stated it will arrive "early Autumn".

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GET READY - The countdown to eFootball is on

Later in Autumn, online leagues will open, and cross-platform matches with console and PC will commence.

Platforms

eFootball will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, PC via Steam and mobile.

eFootball dedlivers adcanced graphics and 4x as many animations than on PES 2021 with "Motion Matching" technology.

This tech is available across all platforms, not just Next Gen.

Next Gen

More Next Gen details are yet to be revealed, but Konami state "cutting-edge graphics" and "incomparable immersion" will arrive on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Why no PES?

For die-hard fans of the Pro Evo series, the announcement will be tough to take - but, they should just treat eFootball as a re-branding of the series, and it now becoming free-to-play.

With PES Mobile being exactly the same as MyClub - it makes sense to make the two seamless, however, this announcement does suggest that popular game modes like Master League and Become a Legend will be no more.

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HAND CRAFTED - Andres Iniesta assisted with eFootball's gameplay

eFootball series Producer Seitaro Kimura said: "Starting with the strong foundations of Unreal Engine, which has allowed us to massively overhaul player expression, we’ve made a number of modifications to virtually create a new football game engine that will power eFootball for years to come.

"With the added power of new-generation consoles and by working closely with elite footballers, eFootball delivers our most tense and realistic gameplay to date."

Licences

PES titles in the past have had serious battles for licences, and that looks set to continue for eFootball.

Konami has shown that Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Manchester United, Arsenal, Corinthians, Flamengo, Sao Paulo and River Plate will all feature when the game launches.

We know that Italian clubs Napoli and Atalanta have also signed on with Konami in recent months.

PES 2021 saw licences for Schalke, Roma, Lazio, Celtic, Rangers, Zenit, but it remains to be seen if they will return for eFootball.

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