
2021 · Konami · Association football · Simulation
EFootball
eFootball is a football simulation game developed and published by Konami. Released in September 2021, it marks a significant shift in the Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series. Konami rebranded the franchise to eFootball and transitioned to a free-to-play model and a new engine, Unreal Engine.
- Released
- 30 September 2021
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch 2PlayStation 4PlayStation 5WindowsXbox OneXbox Series X/S
- Genres
- Association footballSimulationSports
- Developers
- Konami
- Publishers
- Konami
- Modes
- MultiplayerSingle-player
- Perspective
- Bird view / Isometric
- Themes
- ActionNon-fiction
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
About
eFootball is a 2021 association football video game developed, published, and updated annually by Konami. It is the revamped successor to the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, known as Winning Eleven in Japan.
Unlike its predecessor, it was designed as a free-to-play digital video game that includes microtransactions and optional additional content, with the goal of offering more features and online and offline game modes such as Master League, as well as enabling cross-platform play. This eliminates the need for annual physical releases and instead provides periodic, free content updates that introduce new seasons. The first season of the video game, titled eFootball 2022, was released on 30 September 2021. It was followed by eFootball 2023 on 25 August 2022; eFootball 2024 on 7 September 2023; eFootball 2025 on 12 September 2024; eFootball 2026 on 14 August 2025; and eFootball 2027 on 12 August 2026. This video game is part of the International Esports Federation's World Championship, the Northern and Eastern Europe League (NEEC), and the FIFAe World Cup.
›Story
Players will be able to control the strength of kicking the ball as well as determining dribbling speed; from a knock-on all the way to a full dash, just as in real football. In addition, on PlayStation5, eFootball will make use of the controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers to feel the difference of player movements. With greater freedom to control how the player will trap the ball, each play becomes a mind game. A wide array of dribbles and body feints are also available with intuitive commands. In combination, these ensure that every single duel offers an exciting moment for both attacker and defender.
Players can block their opponent's shot by throwing their body or by reading the kick and cutting the pass. Naturally, stealing the ball close to the opponent’s goal creates an excellent scoring opportunity. eFootball recreates the "physical defence", which is so important in real-life football, with a charging command when defending. In addition, the offensive team can also use their bodies to keep the ball in play, making both offensive and defensive play more dynamic.
An option to charge a “sharp kick”, complete with new animations, will make the game even more technical and exciting. Players will be able to perform special kicks, such as sharp crosses, fast lofted passes and rising shots. These new actions take more time to execute, so players will need to choose the right opportunities during a match.
The eFootball development team has analyzed real-life football tactics to create a new set of "1vs1" win/lose rules. With Motion Matching technology, the game evaluates the ball, movement speed, body direction, physical ability and more in real-time to affect the movement of every player. These win/lose rules work in tandem with player movement to make the game more convincing, including foul decisions, which have been reworked.
Team playstyles are a vital part of football, so the AI controlling the off-the-ball players has been revamped. Combining this with the new attacking and defending controls, players will have much greater freedom to play the way they want. The new “Duel” camera zooms in when the player is in a 1vs1 situation, allowing the player to enjoy the 1vs1 scene from a closer distance. When the player is in a free situation, the field of view expands, allowing the player to send a long pass at the right moment.
The new Motion Matching animation system creates much more natural and fluid player movements. In addition, ball movement has seen further enhancements due to a partnership with a research institute. Finally, the action never stops during a match, due to the Seamless Restart system.
Keywords
- soccer
- football
- licensed game
Media
The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
In eFootball there are present two focal forms of gameplay. The first is named “Authentic Team”, which allows users to control virtual real-time soccer teams in offline games (against AI) or locally with friends. There you can also play online user matches: the latter will be playable in events and in friendly matches, where you can challenge another person remotely. The second game mode is called Dream Team, in which you can play online and offline matches with an original team, created by hiring coaches and players.
Each formation can be customized with its name, its uniform and its playing style. With this club you can play both offline and online through the Events section.
Development
On 21 July 2021, Konami released a six-minute video revealing the new game. The announcement revealed that the Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven) brand had been dropped.
The game was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 30 September 2021. It was built using Unreal Engine 4 for the first time in the franchise.
Reception
At launch, eFootball 2022 was panned by critics and players, who criticized the "atrocious" graphics, lack of content, laggy engine and finicky controls. With 92% negative reviews, it became the worst-rated game on Steam a day after launch, and the lowest-rated game of 2021 on the review aggregator Metacritic. Konami later apologised for the game's many issues and said they would work on improving it. A major "1.0" update, that aimed to address many of these issues, was released 14 April 2022 on PC and consoles.
A 2022 review by Simon Cardy of IGN after the 1.0 update gave it a 4/10, writing that "In truth, it's still hard to recommend playing eFootball, even if it is completely free to do so" and that it's "disappointing in so many areas that it's hard to see a quick fix forthcoming". Cardy also criticized the skill moves and gameplay, writing that it's inconsistent and that its AI is dense and dull. Other things he criticized were the pay to win model, the lack of game modes, the atmosphere in games, the commentary in games, and the user interface. However, he praised the presentation of the pitch along with the player and stadium models.
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Collections5 collections
Platform libraries
Years
- Games released in 2026List › April–June
Series and characters
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Genres
- Association football gamesVideo game consoles › Sony › PlayStation 4
- Association football gamesVideo game consoles › Sony › PlayStation 5
- Association football gamesVideo game consoles › Microsoft › Xbox One
- Association football gamesVideo game consoles › Microsoft › Xbox Series X and Series S
- Association football gamesComputers › IBM PC compatibles
Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.

