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. eFootball on mobile will be detailed at a later date.

"Starting with the strong foundations of Unreal Engine, which has allowed us to massively overhaul player expression, we’ve made a number of modifications to virtually create a new football game engine that will power eFootball for years to come,” said Seitaro Kimura, eFootball series Producer at Konami Digital Entertainment. "With the added power of new-generation consoles and by working closely with elite footballers, eFootball delivers our most tense and realistic gameplay to date. We’ll share specific gameplay details next month, so stay tuned.”

To ensure open and transparent communication, Konami has published the first roadmap for eFootball, presenting initial details about launch contents and what will be added in the months following.

Early Autumn:

• All-new gameplay experience, powered by Unreal Engine
• Cross-generation matchmaking (i.e. PS5 vs. PS4, Xbox Series X|S vs. Xbox One)
• Local Matches featuring FC Barcelona, Juventus, FC Bayern, Manchester United and more

Autumn:

• Cross-platform matchmaking between consoles and PC (i.e. PS5 vs. Xbox Series X|S, PS5 vs. PC Steam, etc.)
• Team Building Mode (Name TBC) opened – build your own team by acquiring players
• Online Leagues (Name TBC) opened – take your original team and compete in a global, competitive league
• Match Pass system – earn items and players by playing eFootball

Winter:

• Mobile controller support added
• Full cross-platform matchmaking across all available platforms including mobile when using a compatible controller
• Professional and amateur esports tournaments kick-off

Konami is honoured 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.

Further announcements regarding additional eFootball ambassadors and details about Partner Clubs, licensing and more will be shared in the coming weeks.

eFootball will launch worldwide first on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC ( Win10 and Steam) in Fall 2021, with iOS and Android to follow soon after.