As a lifelong PES fan, I remember the excitement every year when a new Pro Evolution Soccer title would drop. The community buzzed with anticipation, ready to embrace the latest iteration of the beautiful game. From the tight, responsive gameplay to the sheer joy of scoring a perfectly timed goal, PES always felt like the most authentic football experience you could have on a console. But everything changed with eFootball 2022.
The announcement had been full of promise. Konami touted a "next-gen experience," a grand reimagining of the PES legacy. A "free-to-play football platform" that would eventually expand with new content, updates, and features. But when it dropped in September 2021, what we got instead was an unfinished, buggy mess — an embarrassment for the series and, more importantly, for the fans who had been loyal for years.
I was one of the many who had hoped for something spectacular, something worthy of the franchise’s legacy. But what we received was far from it. The game was riddled with glitches, bad animations, terrible player faces, and barely any content. A handful of teams and a non-functional online mode were the extent of the experience. eFootball 2022 quickly became a meme on social media, with fans flooding our community and platforms like Instagram, Reddit and Twitter with screenshots of broken features and sarcastic commentary.
I can’t remember the last time a launch left me so disillusioned. The game felt like a cruel betrayal after Konami’s long silence in 2020, a year where the PES franchise was skipped entirely. It was supposed to be worth the wait, right? A new engine, a bold vision — but instead, we got a half-baked mess that didn’t even resemble the PES we had all come to love.
But here’s where things get interesting. Despite the rough start, Konami didn’t completely abandon the project. Slowly, over the next few months, patches started coming out. Updates like 1.1.0 and beyond began to address the most glaring issues. The game was still far from perfect, but it was evolving. There was hope.
For all the criticism, I held on. I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. This is eFootball’s redemption arc — or at least, I hope it is. I still believe that Konami can bring eFootball 2022 back from the brink, that they can give us the game we were promised. They’ve had a rough start, no doubt about it, but the PES franchise has always had a knack for turning things around.
The community continues to rally for updates, to beg for the return of Master League and proper crossplay. But deep down, there’s still a glimmer of faith that Konami will deliver. After all, we’ve been here before. PES had its ups and downs, but it always came back stronger.
Will eFootball 2023 be the next great PES comeback? I think it could be. The foundation is there — the Unreal Engine, the vision for a unified football experience across consoles and mobile, and the player-driven spirit that made PES great in the first place. We just need Konami to stay committed, to listen to us, the fans who have stuck by them through thick and thin.
In the end, we all want the same thing — to experience the beautiful game in the way only Konami can deliver. I’m not giving up hope yet, and I don’t think I’m alone.
To Konami: The ball is in your court.
A New Beginning? The Hope for eFootball’s Future
While it's hard to forget the rough start, there’s still optimism in the air. As updates continue to roll out, players are cautiously hoping for significant improvements. From bug fixes to promised features like crossplay, Master League, and the expansion of online modes, there’s a chance eFootball can still reach its potential.
I’m not giving up on this game. Maybe this is the time Konami gets it right. I’m rooting for eFootball 2023, and I hope you are too.
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