Konami has officially renamed Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) to eFootball and will move the franchise to being a digital-only free-to-play game.
The new title will make its way to iOS and Android in the winter, initially launching in autumn this year on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. It’s unclear whether the game will become available on the Nintendo Switch.
Initially, cross-generation play will be present between PlayStation and Xbox consoles respectively. A cross-play feature will be in place between all available platforms by winter this year, however, mobile players will require a controller.
“Fair and balanced”
The initial launch of the game will feature exhibition matches and a choice to play from nine clubs, with other modes becoming available in the future to buy separately as DLC. Going forward, eFootball game will also change the game’s engine from Konami’s own FOX Engine to one created in Epic Games’ Unreal 4 engine.
One of the new features is purchasable “Match Passes” that are akin to battle passes. Konami has said that despite the introduction of the new system, the game will remain “fair and balanced” for all players. More information will be revealed towards the end of August.
The PES series has proven very successful on mobile in the past, with the series surpassing 400 million lifetime downloads. This new decision seemingly suggests that PES Mobile will no longer be continuing.
PocketGamer.biz has reached out for comment.
Konami recently revealed three new games based on the Japanese trading card series Yu-Gi-Oh that will be coming to mobile.
In June, Nordeus, the developer of football manager mobile game Top Eleven, was acquired by Take-Two for $378 million.
