eFootball has been an utter fiasco. The game hasn’t been up to snuff and has let down a lot of fans. I know it, you know it, and well, Konami does, too.
Six months after launch, the game will finally get a major 1.0 update next week. Konami says it’s been hard at work addressing issues and making improvements. The 1.0 update was originally planned for last fall, but was delayed, they say, to meet players’ expectations.
Konami has already apologized for the eFootball launch, but in the patch notes for the 1.0 release, the game company acknowledged that, yeah, eFootball deserves the criticism it’s received.
“We entered what would eventually be a two-year period of development for eFootball™ 2022,” writes Konami. “However, we were too focused on getting the game out on time that we lost sight of the most important thing—quality.”
“Naturally, we were met with critical reviews from rightfully disappointed fans.”
At release, eFootball 2022—a rebranding of Konami’s popular PES franchise—became the most hated game on Steam, and was saddled with an “overwhelmingly negative” rating. The game has been very bad, which was a shame as the PES series was very good.
While the game’s rollout has been awful, Konami continues to show a strong desire to take responsibility and fix things. Good for them. And while it’s easy to knock a shoddy release, Konami says fans have been encouraging and telling the game maker to make the best soccer game possible. According to Konami, “We were inspirited by the warmth of the feedback and were able to pull together as a team, even amidst the global health crisis.”
The 1.0 update will be released on April 14. However, the update for eFootball 2022's mobile version has once again been postponed. “The development team is working hard on the mobile version of the game to ensure that the eventual release is of the highest quality, which our esteemed fans rightfully deserve,” writes Konami. “We will be making an announcement regarding the release of the mobile version update soon. In the meanwhile, your patience is much appreciated.”