Konami’s football series of games is interesting. In the Balkans, it’s hard to find a single person who had a PlayStation 1 and did not own PES, the predecessor to eFootball. PES was, and still is, a cultural icon here, but eFootball has struggled to reach the level of fame that its competitor EA FC, or FIFA as many still call it, has. This sets the stage for a look at PES, eFootball, and everything in between.
eFootball was born in 2021 as a successor to the acclaimed Pro Evolution Soccer series, which first launched in 1995. Its launch was terrible and widely mocked for almost every feature, from graphics to its newly introduced free-to-play model. Many critics described it as unplayable, and the poor graphics became an online joke. With more than 11,000 reviews on Steam and only 9% of them positive, the launch was called one of the worst in gaming history.
The one thing that did not attract heavy criticism was the gameplay. In traditional PES fashion, it stayed slower, more technical and more complex than FIFA. Still, with everything else going wrong, that was only a small positive in a rough release.
While FIFA and later EA FC follow a yearly release cycle that requires players to buy a new version each year, eFootball took a different route. Konami made the game free to play with yearly updates so players would not have to buy a new title. This contrasts sharply with EA FC, which is sold at full price and still filled with microtransactions. eFootball also has microtransactions, but with the base game free, players accept them more easily.
Today, eFootball is still struggling financially, but the franchise is an interesting story of trying to reinvent itself by becoming something completely different. The free-to-play model works well, but Konami is a smaller developer than EA, which makes true competition difficult.
In esports, eFootball remains well-loved by professional players, and some compete in both EA FC and eFootball. Its realistic approach makes it rewarding, but fewer tournaments keep it more niche than mainstream. EA’s power in the market is simply too strong, even if they charge players for features that arguably should have been free. Still, Konami’s investment in regional eFootball leagues in 2025 could become an important step, with the results likely visible over time.
Despite its challenges, eFootball is still a Balkans icon. With almost 100 players in each qualifier for the A1 Adria League weekly tournaments, the game clearly has strong local support and a dedicated community.
