Never mind the transfer window. Konami will sign PES 2018 deals when they like, with whom they like.
Following on from last year’s initial deal with Arsenal – which allowed for the use of the club’s official crest within PES 2017 – the Premier League club and Konami have extended their partnership. Now an official club partner, Konami will get greater access to the Arsenal first team squad, and the teams’s Emirates Stadium.
Konami’s Player and Team ID mechanics, and proprietary scanning tech, will be used to ensure each player is brought into the game, and plays as they do in real life. This may or may not be a good thing, of course. The Emirates Stadium will also be fully rendered and added to the game.
The agreement is the latest in a long list of recent PES 2018 partnerships that includes deals with Fulham FC, Usain Bolt, David Beckham, Barcelona, Inter Milan, and the UEFA Champions League. PES 2018 might not have FIFA’s full range of licenses just yet, but given a few more decades we think they might get there.
Vinai Venkatesham, Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal, said:
“Our working relationship with Konami to date has been extremely successful from a licensing perspective and we are delighted to extend this and welcome them as an official partner. We look forward to getting started in the next phase of our relationship with Konami and creating some fun and exciting content that both Arsenal and wider football fans will enjoy.”
Jonas Lygaard, senior brand director at Konami, added:
“We are determined to work with the very best clubs football has to offer and are delighted to partner with Arsenal. The relationship we formed last year has gone from strength to strength, most notably when Emirates Stadium played host to the PES League World Final. As such, we were keen to work even closer with such a highly regarded club and the new agreement will allow us to perfectly recreate and feature Emirates Stadium, and the club’s many stars, within PES 2018.”
Having put pen to paper, and in true football tradition, there was just one thing left to do.
PES 2018 is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A version of the game is also available via Steam.
