It has been rumoured that Konami is trying to bring a free-to-play football game and now eFootball has been officially announced. Apart from being a free-to-play game, it will have a cross-platform feature as well to help players play with each other irrespective of their consoles or PC.
Konami wrote on their official website about the transformation from PES to eFootball: “It all began with the implacable determination to create a revolutionary soccer platform. Our ambition was to recreate the perfect soccer environment, from the grass on the field, to the players’ movement, all the way to the crowds in the stadium.”
“To this end, we decided to create a new soccer engine with a newly built animation system and revamped game commands. The final result was even more impressive than we had originally conceived. We went beyond the border of PES, into a new realm of virtual soccer.”
“To signal this new era, we have decided to part ways with our beloved PES brand and rename it “eFootball™”! Now we hope that you can enjoy this brand-new soccer experience that eFootball™ has to offer.”
Seitaro Kimura, eFootball series Producer at KONAMI Digital Entertainment, 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. We’ll share specific gameplay details next month, so stay tuned.”
Here’s the official reveal trailer of eFootball by Konami:
The roadmap of releasing new features in eFootball:
Early Autumn:
- All-new gameplay experience, powered by Unreal Engine
- Cross-generation matchmaking (i.e. PlayStation5 vs. PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S vs. Xbox One)
- Local Matches featuring FC Barcelona, Juventus, FC Bayern, Manchester United and more
Autumn:
- Cross-platform matchmaking between consoles and PC (i.e. PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 vs. PC Steam, etc.)
- Team Building Mode (Name TBC) opened – build your own team by acquiring players
- Online Leagues (Name TBC) opened – take your original team and compete in a global, competitive league
- Match Pass system – earn items and players by playing eFootball
Winter:
- Mobile controller support added
- Full cross-platform matchmaking across all available platforms including mobile when using a compatible controller
- Professional and amateur esports tournaments kick-off
The new game will be built with Unreal Engine technology and will be available in a digital-only capacity starting early Autumn on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10 and PC Steam, with Android and iOS due to follow later.
According to the developers, Konami will be implementing a new technology called Motion Matching, which will select the most accurate motion of a player in real-time from the vast range of motions that real players can make.
This prospect of a free-to-play cross-platform football game seems to have caught the attention of everybody including their biggest rivals EA Sports’ FIFA and it has been heard FIFA 22 is the last FIFA instalment which will be paid. EA are also planning to make FIFA a free-to-play game in order to compete against Konami’s eFootball.
