eFootball 2022

Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Genre: Sports
Developer: Konami
Release Date: Sept. 30, 2021

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'eFootball' Signs Agreements With FC Bayern München And Inter Milan

by Rainier on July 1, 2022 @ 10:03 a.m. PDT

Free-to-play and completely rebuilt in Unreal Engine, eFootball is an all-new football simulation platform from the makers of PES and Winning Eleven.

A new brand identity for a new generation of consoles and players, eFootball represents a fresh approach for the long-running franchise, previously known as Pro Evolution Soccer and Winning Eleven.

Thanks to the greatly evolved football game engine, the animation system has also been overhauled. New technology called "Motion Matching" converts the vast range of movements that players make on the pitch into a series of animations, selecting the most accurate one in real-time. The system provides more than four times as many animations as before, achieving highly realistic movement. “Motion Matching” will be utilised across all eFootball platforms, including last-gen consoles, PCs and mobile.

Ensuring that eFootball is an experience that everyone can enjoy, Konami’s new football game is free-to-play across console, PC and mobile. Importantly, eFootball will also present a fair and balanced experience for all players. More details about gameplay and online modes will be revealed in late August.

As a digital-only title, Konami will regularly add new content and game modes after launch this Autumn. Local matches featuring FC Barcelona, Juventus, FC Bayern, Manchester United and others will be available, for free, at launch. In the future, certain game modes will be sold as optional DLC, giving players the freedom to build an experience that follows their interests.

Uniting football’s global gaming community for the first time, eFootball will offer the same highly realistic esports experience across console, PC and mobile, including full cross-play support post-launch.

Konami revealed that it has extended its partnership with FC Bayern München. This will see a continuation of an agreement spanning back to July 2019 and extending into a long-term partnership.

This partnership will see the club feature in KONAMI’s football simulation title series eFootball, re-establishing an exciting partnership between Germany’s most successful club and one of the world’s most iconic gaming brands.

As the only Football Match Simulation Game with the inclusion of the Allianz Arena, the home of FC Bayern, and fully scanned squads, eFootball brings the club’s fans the detailed and in-depth experience of the club in the virtual world. A virtual world in which the club has been successful, having finished second position in this season’s eFootball Championship Pro.

Naoki Morita, Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.’s European President, commented: "We are delighted to be extending our partnership with FC Bayern. Being a partner to one of Europe’s elite football clubs presents KONAMI and the club with many opportunities.To have been partners during a period where they have won multiple titles and become champions of Europe has been fantastic, and we cannot wait to continue to produce engaging and exciting activations with FC Bayern for their fans and ours for the years to come."

Andreas Jung, FC Bayern board member for Marketing: "The partnership with KONAMI is of great importance to us because this market is booming and is particularly popular with the young fans. We love football and this collaboration offers the ideal opportunity to play the game virtually with our fans around the world and connect everyone in this way. KONAMI translates as 'small wave' - and we have already been able to create a big wave together in the first years of our partnership. We want to continue surfing it. We are looking forward to the future."

Konami also revealed they have formed a multi-year partnership with Italian club FC Internazionale Milano which will incorporate a range of elements in and out the eFootball title series.

As one of Italy’s truly iconic football clubs, KONAMI are excited to reveal the long-term agreement with Inter Milan. The partnership itself will incorporate many different commercial, imagery, and activation rights. 

These will include: Global Football Video Game Partner status; Training Kit Back Partner status (which will feature the eFootball branding); and Youth Development Centre Partner status – with the facility set to be known as “KONAMI Youth Development Centre in memory of Giacinto Facchetti”.

The partnership will also see the club feature within the eFootball series from version 2.0.0 onwards. This will see the featuring of authentic kits, the newly branded training kit, and the infamous San Siro stadium in-game. The partnership will see Inter Milan feature exclusively within eFootball and no other video game from July 2024.

Alongside a host of branding and commercial rights, Inter Milan will also integrate themselves within the array of eSports tournaments and activations that KONAMI runs, including the eFootball Championship Pro, the most recent edition of which concluded last weekend.

Naoki Morita, Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.’s European President, commented: "Adding a club the stature of Inter Milan to our cohort of partner clubs is very exciting for KONAMI. With the naming rights to the Youth Development Centre, the eFootball branding on the team’s training kit, and their involvement in our ever-expanding portfolio of eSports activations, we at KONAMI know that this partnership will bring us many successes now and for the long-term."

Alessandro AntonelloCorporate CEO of FC Internazionale Milano, commented: “This new multi-year global partnership agreement proves the importance of a common path between Inter and KONAMI, a clear commitment that resumes a bond that began years ago and will continue into the future, based on shared values and objectives."

Luca Danovaro, Chief Revenue Officer of FC Internazionale Milano, commented: "We are delighted to welcome KONAMI back into the Inter family and to announce this important and unique partnership, which once again proves the ever-growing value of the Nerazzurri brand and its ability to represent the ideal communication platform to engage a young, innovative and international target, capable of connecting millions of fans around the world, thanks to a long-term strategy. Starting this season, KONAMI will play a leading role in our world."

At the heart of eFootball is eFootball World, where players can enjoy matches with real-life teams

Offline Matches

  • Play against the AI or a friend offline with nine fully authentic clubs to choose from: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, Juventus, Manchester United, Arsenal FC, SC Corinthians Paulista, CR Flamengo, CA River Plate, São Paulo FC
  • Choose from six stadiums: Camp Nou, Old Trafford, Allianz Stadium, Emirates Stadium, Allianz Arena, eFootball Stadium

Online Events

  • Experience cross-generation matchmaking (PS5 vs. PS4, Xbox Series X|S vs. Xbox One) with weekly online events using pre-set teams, providing rewards such as GP

Konami is honored that Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr., two of the greatest footballers of all time, will become global ambassadors for eFootball. In addition, Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Piqué have been closely involved in development as official advisors for offensive and defensive gameplay, respectively.

eFootball is available for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC (Win10 and Steam).


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