Konami has confirmed it will not release PES 2021 and is instead working on a next-generation version of its popular football simulation for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
In an announcement on the company’s website, Konami has confirmed long-standing rumours that it won’t release a new version of PES this year. Instead, PES 2020 will receive a full update for the 2020/21 football season.
The news follows the recent confirmation that the series has lost the official license to use Italian Serie A teams AC Milan and Inter Milan.
The statement also outlines Konami’s plans for the series, confirming that it will return with a full game next year on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
“The sheer scale of everything we are aiming to achieve for our next-gen debut has made it necessary to pare back our efforts in other areas of development. As a result, we have made the decision to launch this year’s PES as a streamlined offering in the form of a “season update”. That being said, we are still extremely confident that this year’s game offers fans more than enough thrills to tide them over until our next-gen title is ready for launch.”
This year also marks a quarter of a century since the very first PES title was released. To commemorate this important milestone, and more importantly, to show our gratitude to you, our loyal fans, we are pleased to announce that this year’s PES will launch at an affordable anniversary price and will also come with several bonuses.”
The franchise’s next-gen entry is planned for testing in mid-2021, with a full release following later in the year.
Konami has also released a short teaser video to tide fans over. Erm, enjoy.
Bookmark the Thumbsticks new releases page for more on the latest games. You can also follow us on social media via Flipboard, Facebook, Google News, and Twitter.
