Konami releases a surprise demo for PES 2022 under the unassuming monicker, New Football Game Online Performance Test.
Remember when PES – Konami’s football simulator and counterpoint to FIFA – used to be called “Pro Evolution Soccer”?
Then at some point in its lifespan (we don’t recall exactly when), Konami decided to shorten it to its acronym, “PES” (in spite of everyone we knew actually calling it “Pro Evo” for short).
Then in 2019, Konami decided to rename it, again, to “eFootball PES”. We don’t entirely know why. Maybe they’re planning to drop the “PES” bit altogether and just call it “eFootball”? It certainly positions it well as an esport, and is more, erm, search engine-friendly.
With that in mind, Konami has quietly released a demo for PES 2022 – sorry, eFootball PES 2022 – that has a hint of Untitled Goose Game about its name.
It’s called New Football Game Online Performance Test, and it’s available to download and try now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S. It’s a pretty restrictive demo, but you don’t need PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold to play it.
That’s it. That’s the news. If you like Pro Evo, there’s a new demo for you to try, it has a weird name, and it’s available until July 8, 2021.
Why does it have such a nondescript name, we wonder? Why is the demo not referred to as eFootball PES 2022? Is it because this is the year – following the pandemic-driven year off for eFootball PES 2021 – that Konami will drop the “PES” name and go all-in on that “eFootball” branding?
Via Eurogamer.
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