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Konami rebrands Pro Evolution Soccer as free-to-play eFootball

Konami rebrands Pro Evolution Soccer as free-to-play eFootball

Japanese games firm Konami has changed the branding of its long-running Pro Evolution Soccer franchise to eFootball.

The company is launching eFootball this year as a downloadable free-to-play title which it intends to expand upon over time. As a result, Konami is moving away from its annual releases.

The firm rebranded Pro Evolution Soccer to eFootball PES back in 2019. This new eFootball title is being made by the same people who built Pro Evolution Soccer over the years and is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, while a mobile edition is also in the pipeline. The game is also going to be cross-platform.

"It all began with the implacable determination to create a revolutionary football experience," Konami wrote on its website.

"Our ambition was to recreate the perfect football environment, from the grass on the pitch, to the players' movement, all the way to the crowds in the stadium.

"To this end, we decided to create a new football engine, with revamped animation system and game controls.

"The final result was even more impressive than we had originally conceived. We had gone beyond the border of PES, into a new realm of virtual football.

"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 football experience that eFootball™ has to offer."

Earlier this year, Konami restructured its development teams and insisted that it isn't dropping out of video games. The firm has also recently teamed up with Polish horror specialist Bloober Team, though the latter has had to downplay what the duo is working on amid swirling rumours that it was creating a new Silent Hill project.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.