Konami just announced that they will fully upgrade its existing successful title PES 2018 to the new PES 2019 in an upcoming major update this December. Konami confirmed in their announcement that PES 2019 will be available on Google Play Store with most updated player rosters along with updates of just about every aspect of the game.
Besides acquiring licenses of 10 new leagues, the new engine for PES 2019 will deliver a revolution in the gameplay formula of the current PES 2018. In addition, AI intelligence enhancements, unique playing styles, and more realistic ball physics, which are powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, will also be parts of the big upcoming update.
To be more specific about the update, Konami successfully acquired 10 new leagues’ licenses, consisting of Superliga Quilmes Clásica, Campeonato Brasileiro and J.League. Players can start experiencing those leagues in the new PES 2019 as well as console and PC versions.
The only exception is that J.League is exclusively available for the mobile version. The update will also bring the redesign of myClub to iOS and Android versions which includes “Live Update” feature. This feature offers weekly updates of players and it is already included in the Ultimate Team - a mode of FIFA. However, despite these changes, Konami’s business model remains unchanged as they still offer PES 2019 as a free-to-play game with microtransaction being available.
Even though Konami has basically reworked PES 2019 compared to the 2018 version - PES 2018, they are still going to launch it as a major update instead of a stand-alone game. This may suggest that Konami is strengthening their commitment to the “game as a service” model.
Staying with the same game title may help Konami to launch their new update smoothly as they will not have to build their user base again. Even though PES 2019 only comes as a new update, it will be a new game with many new features with the mission to take the football formula of Konami to a higher level.