After a lot of speculation, Konami has finally announced their plans for eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2021, but there is a catch...
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As reported previously, there was speculation that the next instalment of the game might not be a fully-fledged release, and it seems that is the case.
The development team have confirmed that PES 2021 will come as a "Season Update" with enough work being down to ensure it "offers fans more than enough thrills" until the next-gen title is ready.
Along with the announcement, PES revealed a short teaser for the next generation title, which would effectively be PES 2022.
IGN reported further details on the matter, saying that Konami had clarified to them that PES 2021 will be a standalone game, despite their description of it as a "Season Update". The game, however, will come at a lower price and is not a paid DLC update.
This means that fans shouldn't expect wholesale changes and innovative additions to gameplay, as it is likely to be more of an update of rosters, kits and some other bonuses, which have not yet been clarified.
Read the full statement from Konami below which includes details on the next-gen game being worked on, and check out the teaser trailer at the bottom of the article.
"As the industry stands at the precipice of an exciting new generation of consoles, we believe that now is the perfect time to share some of our plans for the future of the PES franchise with you.
"To that end, we are excited to announce that we are hard at work on a next-generation football title that aims to truly embody our core concept of 'The Pitch is Ours.'
"This title is being developed with an updated engine that will enable us to dazzle you with staggering improvements to all areas of the game. Expect more realistic player models and animations, enhanced physics, photorealistic visuals, and much much more.
"We recognize that many of you are enthusiastic for new myClub and Master League content, and we are also excited to share that large updates are in the works for both of these modes.
"However, the sheer scale of everything we are aiming to achieve for our next-gen debut has made it necessary to pare back our efforts in other areas of development. As a result, we have made the decision to launch this year's PES as a streamlined offering in the form of a 'season update'. That being said, we are still extremely confident that this year's game offers fans more than enough thrills to tide them over until our next-gen title is ready for launch.
"This year also marks a quarter of a century since the very first PES title was released. To commemorate this important milestone, and more importantly, to show our gratitude to you, our loyal fans, we are pleased to announce that this year's PES will launch at an affordable anniversary price and will also come with several bonuses.
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"Currently, we aim to begin testing of our next-gen title sometime in mid-2021, with an estimated release date later in the same year.
"Until that time, we hope to see you back on the pitch in this year's season update.
"Look forward to more news regarding our next-gen project closer to release."
