Konami had performed a radical change of direction when it came to producing a football sim to rival the behemoth that was the FIFA series. For many years the Pro Evolution Soccer series had failed to reel in FIFA's die-hard fanbase in any considerable way, but that changed somewhat with eFootball.
Not only was it starting afresh by ditching the PES name to be known simply as eFootball, but it was going for a free-to-play, fully crossplay, live-service approach, along with a newly refurbished game engine running on Unreal Engine. These changes meant that instead of trying to replicate the FIFA model, eFootball now offered an alternative to football fans.
With Konami's football game getting the most attention it had seen in years, there were plenty of questions about the new-look eFootball that needed answering. So, here is all there is to know about eFootball.
eFootball release date
The eFootball release date was Friday, September 30, 2022, on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The mobile version launched a few weeks later so everyone could join in.
Interestingly, this was just one day before the full FIFA 22 release date, which put the two soccer giants head-to-head.
eFootball free-to-play
Konami's eFootball was free-to-play, but additional game modes (which were released at a steady rate over the following months and years) cost money to access.
For example, MyClub and Dream Team were free, but other modes were not – particularly offline modes.
eFootball platforms
eFootball was released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, alongside mobile versions available on iOS and Android devices.
eFootball cross-play
One of the biggest attractions of eFootball was that it had full crossplay between all platforms. This began with cross-generational matchmaking between old-gen and new-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
In an update soon after, this evolved into crossplay between all consoles and PC.
Finally, eFootball went fully crossplay when the mobile versions on iOS and Android were released, meaning console, PC, and mobile players could all play together like never before.
That's all you need to know about eFootball, the successor to PES. With the base game being free and a live-service structure, it's no wonder eFootball gave FIFA a bit more run for its money.