PES 2021 will be ‘seasonal update’ so Konami can focus on next-gen PES 2022

Konami game eFootball PES 2021 will be a season updatevariant of PES 2020 with a lower purchase price. With that, the developer wants to give itself time to focus on the 2022 version of the game, which will run on the Unreal Engine for the first time in the game series.

In a blog post, Konami writes that the developer is working hard on a ‘next-gen football game’ with an updated engine that has many improvements in modeling, animation, physics and visuals. The developer shares the video below, which starts with the Unreal Engine logo. Previously Konami used its own Fox engine. The developer does not provide further details about the switch to the Unreal Engine.

Konami says the “ large scale ” of improvements it plans to make for PES 2022 means the developer has had to make development time choices. Therefore, eFootball PES 2021 will be released as a seasonal update with a lower purchase price. This game does get some bonuses, because it is 25 years after the first PES game this year. Konami does not make clear what kind of bonuses these are and for what price PES 2021 will be sold.

Earlier this week, it was leaked that PES 2021 would not be a regular release, due to an entry in the Microsoft Store. Twitter user Roberto Serrano shared this entry, which mentioned a PES 2021 that would be an ‘updated version of PES 2020’, with the latest player data and team ranks. Konami told IGN that PES 2021 will be a standalone game and that it will not be DLC for PES 2020.

According to Konami, eFootball PES 2022 is getting major improvements for the myClub and Master League modes. The developer expects to be able to test the game in the middle of next year, with an expected release later in the year.