Konami has officially announced that their Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) is no more. In its place will be eFootball, a new and free-to-play soccer game that will be released digitally only on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC this Fall. There will be mobile releases on iOS and Android coming later on. Full cross-play between all released versions will be allowed, though those on mobile will need to use a controller to play against consoles and PC.
eFootball will move away from their FOX Engine and will instead use Unreal Engine 4 for this new release. This new engine also allows for new tech to be added such as a "Motion Tracking" animation system. This will allow for four times as many animations as previous games. The studio also notes that all versions of the game will be functionally the same.
According to an exclusive by IGN, eFootball will be updated on the regular. This means that there will be no more annual paid releases of the game. Instead, there will be free, yearly updates for new seasons.
eFootball will include exhibition matches and 9 clubs to play with at launch. More modes will be released as optional DLC, though no mention of what these specific modes will be. There is also no mention of MyClub or Master League, some of the mainstay modes in the PES games. There will be a "Team Building Mode" coming after release though.
Commentary will again be handled by Peter Drury and Jim Beglin. Further details on eFootball will be announced in late August.
