| eFootball PES 2020 | |
|---|---|
 Promotional image of the game featuringFC Barcelona playerLionel Messi | |
| Developer | PES Productions |
| Publisher | Konami |
| Director | Yoshikatsu Ogihara |
| Series | eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer |
| Engine | Fox Engine Unreal Engine 4(Android, iOS) |
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Android iOS |
| Release | 2021 Season Update:
|
| Genre | Sports |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
eFootball PES 2020 (eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020) is afootball simulation video game developed by PES Productions and published byKonami forMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 4,Xbox One,Android, andIOS.[1] The game is the 19th installment in theeFootball Pro Evolution Soccer series and was launched worldwide on 10 September 2019 and in Japan on 12 September 2019.
This year's edition features a name change with the addition of 'eFootball' within the title, symbolising a push in the online gaming space with a focus on eFootball Pro tournaments.Lionel Messi returned as the cover star of the standard edition, which was the first since his last appearance on the cover ofPro Evolution Soccer 2011 (and the first after having been the cover athlete of rival seriesFIFA betweenFIFA 13 and16), alongside PES ambassadorsSerge Gnabry,Miralem Pjanić andScott McTominay, each representing one of the game's partner clubs (FC Barcelona,Bayern Munich,Juventus andManchester United respectively).[2]Ronaldinho was featured on the cover of the legend edition.[2]PES 2020 is the last game in the series to useKojima Productions'sFox Engine. It is also the last installment in the franchise to use the PES name and branding as the following installment was just namedeFootball and is free to play.[3][4]
The mobile version reached 300 million downloads by June 2020.[5]
A renewed agreement between Konami andFC Barcelona was announced, demonstrating a continued relationship with the Catalan club. Together with this announcement, it was also confirmed that a special Barcelona edition will be released.[6]
Manchester United and Konami announced an agreement which would see the club, its stadiums and players recreated within the game. The current squad have also been created using a full-body 3D scanning process, providing players of the game with realistic avatars.[7]
After the announcement of the demo—which came out on 30 July 2019,[8]FC Bayern Munich was announced as an official partner club.[9] Players will have the full experience with authentic kits, full 3D scanned players and, exclusively, Bayern's home ground,Allianz Arena.
Juventus returned from PES 2020. They signed an exclusive partnership with the game, which will see it includes the club kits, player names, and stadium in-game. This makes it the first time in 25 years that theFIFA series will not hold the license for the club. As a result, the club was known inFIFA 20 as"Piemonte Calcio".[10]
On 28 June 2019,Arsenal announced a 3-year extension to their partnership with Konami, which would see a highly detailed recreation ofEmirates Stadium, as well as access to club legends and first-team players.[11]
In July 2018, AS Monaco partnered with Konami for PES 2019. They renewed this agreement in 2020, which includes all access to real players and their stadium. The French version of the game also featuresRadamel Falcao andPhilippe Coutinho.[12]
Celtic reappeared as a licensed club in PES 2019 and have renewed their contract with Konami for the 2021 Season Update. This means players will have full access to their kits, emblem, players, and stadium.[13]
Included for the first time in the PES series, there is a new game mode called Matchday Mode. Players around the world will help their team to glory one match at a time in the new Matchday mode.Konami will choose an important match or derby game each week, players will then be able to decide which team they want to represent on Matchday.[14]
Master League has also received a number of revamps, most notably containing a story-like progression, with all-new cutscenes taking place in staff meetings, training sessions or press conferences, as well as objectives to be accomplished based on replies given by the player on those cutscenes.
Data Pack 7 was released on 4 June 2020. The update was related toUEFA Euro 2020 and the content included the official kits and player likenesses for all 55 officially licensed UEFA teams. The update also included 5 out of 11 venues of the tournament, as well as the official match ball.[15] This is also the last PES to have the UEFA Euro and UEFA license altogether.[16]
Nineteen leagues are fully licensed in the game. All the teams in these leagues feature real players, kits and logos, although a minority of the players in the Brazilian leagues still appear with generic names.[17] Three new league licenses were obtained: the ItalianSerie A, ItalianSerie B (unlicensed at launch), and the BrazilianCampeonato Brasileiro Série B.[18][17]
Konami have retained the license for theAFC Champions League, remaining in the game since its introduction in PES 2014.[17] With this, debutants for2019 AFC Champions League,Gyeongnam,Al Zawraa,Daegu andJohor Darul Ta'zim also appear for the first time in this franchise.
The EnglishPremier League (with the exceptions ofManchester united and Arsenal),EFL Championship, SpanishLa Liga (except for Barcelona and Mallorca) andSegunda División will appear as unlicensed leagues in the game. These leagues will, however, feature real players.[17] Serie A have all clubs licensed, apart fromBrescia.
Thai League 1 andChinese Super League are also included.[19]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(September 2019) |
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PS4) 82/100[20] (XONE) 82/100[21] (PC) 81/100[22] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| GameSpot | 9/10[23] |
| GamesRadar+ |   [24] |
| IGN | 8.3/10[25] |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 77/100[26] |
| Push Square | 7/10[27] |
| Stuff | [28] |
| The Irish Times | [29] |
By the end of September 2019, thePES franchise had sold106.8 million copies. By December 2020, the franchise had sold111 million copies, an increase of4.2 million between October 2019 and December 2020.[30]
eFootball PES 2020 received generally positive reviews from critics for all platforms.[20][21][22]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Game Critics Awards | Best Sports Game | Won | [31] |
| Gamescom | Nominated | [32] | ||
| 2019 Golden Joystick Awards | Best Multiplayer Game | Nominated | [33] | |
| Titanium Awards | Best Sports/Racing Game | Nominated | [34] | |
| The Game Awards 2019 | Nominated | [35] |
In December 2019, Arsenal midfielderMesut Özil wascompletely removed from the Mandarin version inMainlandChina, after the fallout surrounding his tweet condemning theChinesegovernmentcrackdown onUyghurs. According toNetEase Games, they stated that his comments "hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sport's spirit of love and peace. We do not understand, accept or forgive this."[36]
On 15 July 2020, it was announced thateFootball PES 2021 Season Update would be released in celebration of the series' 25th anniversary, due to PES Productions focusing development efforts on the upcomingeFootball and its first year entitledeFootball 2022. Konami made a "Season Update" to focus on the development.[37] It also acts as a separate game fromeFootball PES 2020, meaning that it will not be required to play.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) is the cover star of the standard edition, alongside PES ambassadorsCristiano Ronaldo (Juventus),Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), andMarcus Rashford (Manchester United), each representing one of the game's partner clubs.[38]
Konami announced an exclusive multi-year partnership withA.S. Roma andS.S. Lazio, whileA.C. Milan andInter Milan are not featured after they signed exclusive partnership deals withEA Sports, and instead are known as Milano RN and Lombardia NA respectively.
TheSeason Update was released forPlayStation 4,Xbox One andWindows on 15 September.
{{cite web}}:|first= has generic name (help)UEFA European Championship symbols | |
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