Pro Evolution Soccer Adopts a Free-to-Play Model – eFootball Gameplay on Consoles

Pro Evolution Soccer Now Adopts a Free-to-Play Model and is now eFootball. There happens to be no shortage of Football, a.k.a soccer in some countries, video games. But very few would actually manage to stand out and stay right on top of other people. Of these games, EA’s FIFA and Konami’s PES happens to be the most renowned and purchased titles.

Pro Evolution Soccer Adopts a Free-to-Play Model

That said, Pro Evolution Soccer or PES would no longer be. At least not in the way that we know it. Konami is not just renaming it right into a more generic “eFootball” brand. But it also happens to be switching to a somewhat controversial free-to-play or freemium business model.

Pro Evolution Soccer is Now eFootball and now Adopts a Free-to-Play Model

Konami defends its surprising decision by narrating how a change in the game engine would change more than just visuals or the performance. It says that the new engine has now gone beyond PES and has become a true virtual football environment, hence the unexciting name of eFootball. That game engine change, however, would also open new opportunities to unify the old PES into a single experience across all supported platforms.

eFootball Gameplay on Consoles

eFootball would be available right in the same gameplay and mode as on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One,  Xbox Series X|S, Windows, Android, and iOS. More than just the availability, however, the new game would also be offering cross-platform matches, but not immediately. Konami shares a roadmap where those matches will open up slowly between the generation of the same console platform, between consoles and PC, and finally between all devices.

The bigger news, however, is the switch away from a paid release to Free-to-Play. That term often makes some players and regulators uncomfortable, especially given the recent controversy around loot boxes. Of course, Konami has promised to be offering a fair ecosystem where a lot of the games available are for free and only optional modes are sold as DLCs.

Konami eFootball Release Date

It also remains to be seen how successful Konami will be in that balancing act, and it might just be arriving before that happens. Konami’s eFootball is expected to land in early fall with basic features more like the local matches making use of famous clubs. Now it would not be available for all football/soccer fans to try out.

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