Konami announced that its football game eFootball has exceeded one billion downloads globally. The milestone follows a difficult launch in 2021. To celebrate, the company is launching special in-game events and a new manga.
Konami revealed that eFootball, the live-service successor to the Pro Evolution Soccer series, has now surpassed one billion cumulative downloads worldwide. The announcement comes despite the game's rocky debut in 2021, when its initial Steam release became the platform's worst-reviewed title at the time. Konami continues to compete in the football gaming market even after Electronic Arts transitioned from the FIFA brand to EA Sports FC. The company is marking the achievement with an in-game campaign called the 'Master league Sprint,' inspired by the popular Master League mode from previous Pro Evolution Soccer games. This event began on April 9 and runs until April 16. Participating players who log in can earn in-game currency and have opportunities to acquire high-value players, such as Ronaldinho Gaucho. Off the pitch, Konami announced a manga titled That Time I got Reincarnated in PES, written by Kiminori Wakasugi and set for publication on K Manga. The story follows a protagonist who experiences the Master League mode alongside footballers including Castolo and Minanda.