‘PES 2020’ release date: Konami scores another win against EA; Announces partnership with UEFA

“PES 2020” is going after the throne of “FIFA,” snagging exclusive rights from the competition and ensuring that the title will feature teams that are up to date with the current football landscape. Now, Konami has once again scored another victory against EA as it announced that the studio has partnered with UEFA, making the title the official game of the UEFA 2020 tournament.

What this means is that “PES 2020” will be releasing a free DLC in the second quarter next year complete with kits, crests, and players. Konami, of course, is quite ecstatic about this development.

“Our teams have pulled out all the stops to secure the biggest and best licenses possible for eFootball PES 2020; quality licenses that match the level we set each year when it comes to gameplay. The partnership with UEFA and the EURO 2020 tournament is a big win for our community and new users who look for fresh content throughout the year,” said Jonah Lygaard, Konami’s director of brand and business development.

PES 2020 and Konami’s tournament

Apart from the UEFA partnership, “PES 2020” has also scored exclusive rights to the Italian Serie A League complete with logo, badges, and trophies in the game, Eurogamer reported. In the past few weeks, Konami unleashed a host of announcement including exclusivity on River Plate and Juventus.

To hammer their point home, Konami is also planning a competition called UEFA eEURO 2020 tournament, which will be held in London before the championship match of the UEFA Euro 2020 will kick-off. So can “PES 2020” finally dethrone “FIFA” out of its spot? That’s unlikely.

PES 2020 unlikely to unseat FIFA

While the game does have a lot going on for it, there’s no addition in the upcoming version that would really make it stand out against its competition. Sure, the gameplay is smooth, and the Finesse Dribble nicely ties the slower pace of “PES 2020,” but other than that, there’s really no “oomph” factor that would lay down EA’s title for good.

But that doesn’t mean the game can’t compete against “FIFA.” It definitely can. But to say that it’s a “FIFA” killer would be an overstatement. Of course, for players who have a seething hatred for EA, “PES 2020” does provide a great alternative, which is great since competition would usually mean that fans are winning at the end of the day. As for when the game will be released, Konami announced it would hit the shelves on Sept. 10.