Konami will sell Master League and other offline modes as eFootball DLC
Dead as a Dodo.
Konami will sell Master League and other offline modes as eFootball DLC, it's confirmed.
Following yesterday's news that Konami had renamed PES to eFootball and made it free-to-play and digital-only, the company has now released some new information on how the game will sell content.
eFootball launches worldwide first on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 and PC via Steam early autumn, with iOS and Android to follow soon after.
At launch, only local matches featuring the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern, and Manchester United will be available for free, alongside cross-generation matchmaking (PS5 vs PS4, and Xbox Series X and S vs Xbox One).
Then, later in the autumn, cross-play between all consoles and PC goes live, alongside a team-building mode (this game's version of myClub?), and online leagues, where you "take your original team and compete in a global, competitive league".
There's also what looks like a battle pass in there - it's called Match Pass system, and with it you earn items and players by playing the game.
Then, in the winter, Konami will add mobile controller support, full cross-play matchmaking across all platforms, including mobile when using a controller, and pro and amateur esports tournaments.
Konami had said it plans to sell individual game modes as optional DLC, "giving players the freedom to build an experience that follows their interests."
Now we know one of those DLC game modes is Master League, perhaps Pro Evolution Soccer's most famous game mode. Konami did not say how much it will cost.
In Master League, which has been kicking around PES (and ISS Pro Evolution before it) since 1999, you create and manage your own team, typically starting with a squad of fictional and distinctly average players.
These Master League default players have become iconic within the PES community, and include the likes of Brazilian striker Castolo, Russian keeper Ivanov, and Portuguese attacking midfielder Minanda. Oh, and don't forget Italian DMF Dodo. I always liked him.
Master League is great because it never ends. You can keep playing forever, gradually improving your team until it becomes pretty much unstoppable.
Now, for the first time, Master League is premium DLC.
Last month, Konami quietly launched what was called 'New Football Game Online Performance Test' on console (gameplay video below). At the time we thought it was an early look at PES 2022. It turns out, it was an early look at eFootball.
Konami also addressed concern about the quality of eFootball, given it's designed to work with cross-play across all platforms, including mobile.
"Cross-platform online matches will be further improved with a new engine and adjusted to take *full* advantage of each platform," Konami said.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, of course. It'll be interesting to see how eFootball looks and plays on console and PC compared to mobile.
On the mobile version of eFootball, Konami said it will be provided as an update to the current app available on iOS and Android, with some user data carrying over.