eFootball 2022has had a disastrous launch, as Konami’s decision to transform its popular and successfulPro Evolution Soccerfranchise into a free-to-play live service game is looking more and more like a major error. That point is now punctuated by an announcement from theeFootball 2022development team confirming that the 1.0 version of the soccer game is being delayed. It will no longer arrive in 2021, and is instead tentatively planned for release in the ambiguous spring 2022 season.
Konami made the announcement on Friday, confirming that the development team ofeFootball 2022wouldn’t be able to meet its previously announced release date of November 11. The 1.0 release ofeFootball 2022will now arrive in Spring 2022, a delay of what’s likely several months. The extra time will allow Konami to continue releasingbug fixes for the existing version ofeFootball 2022available to the public, as well as necessary development time to meet the quality standards that soccer fans want.
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While Konami does apologize for the delay, it doesn’t explore the reasons why the delay was necessary. They should be self-evident, however, considering the current state ofeFootball 2022and players' discontent.eFootball 2022’s initial launch statewas full of significant bugs, which Konami has struggled to remedy since. Launching a major update while still leaving pressing issues unaddressed would only further anger players, so a delay seems both obvious and appropriate.
The 1.0 update ofeFootball 2022aims to include features like support for mobile platforms, the ability to create, play as, and grow an original team, and other content. Those plans haven’t changed, andKonamiwill continue rolling out updates between now and 1.0’s arrival in spring 2022. A patch was delivered on Friday, version .0.9.1, that claimed to fix several known bugs, though no date has been announced for the next planned update.
ForeFootball 2022players that purchased the game’s Premium Player Pack, Konami has announced that all purchases are being automatically canceled and refunded. The Premium Player Pack included in-game Chance Deals and in-gameeFootball Coins currency, but would require the content ineFootball 2022’s 1.0 release to make full use of. It is worth noting that those who pre-ordered will have to re-download the free version ofeFootball 2022. Save files and progress should be intact.
Obviously, this is a frustrating situation for all parties involved. In retrospect, it seems likeeFootball 2022would have been better off being delayed, rather than launching its free “demo” version to get ahead ofFIFA 22’s launch. Given that this is the first release for theeFootballseries under its new name, Konami has a big challenge ahead of itself if it wants to regain player trust.
eFootball 2022is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
