In an announcement (opens in new tab), Konami told fans that the 1.0 version of the game, originally scheduled to release next week, “has been postponed until Spring 2022.” The developer says that it has “been working diligently towards distributing an update that will bring new content to the game […] as well as support for mobile devices on November 11. Unfortunately, we have concluded that more time is needed to deliver the product in the quality that will meet the expectations of our users and have decided to postpone the delivery.”

The delay means that Konami has decided to issue automatic refunds to players who pre-ordered the game’s Premium Player Pack, as it contains in-game items that can only be used after the update.

A new, smaller update is available today, fixing “numerous bugs on each platform,” but it won’t tackle more significant gameplay faults. There’s also no word on when the mobile version will launch, with details on that front to be announced later.

This is a significant blow for Konami’s reboot of its long-running football series, which got off to a seriously rocky start amid an early access release last month. Marred by bugs, dodgy AI and even dodgier player likenesses, eFootball 2022 swiftly became the lowest-rated game ever on Steam. With a launch update intended to fix some of those issues now bumped halfway through the season, the title is likely to have a long and difficult road ahead of it. 

For a sense of the progress Konami needs to make, check out our eFootball 2022 review. 

The post eFootball 2022 1.0 delay earns Premium Player Pack refunds appeared first on Game News.

The update – which will now roll out in November – was initially expected by the end of this month, October, but Konami says it needs “additional time” and says it will announce the date and details of the fixes “as soon as they are confirmed”. 

“We would like to inform users that we have decided to delay the release of version 0.9.1. to early November. We sincerely apologize for the delay and the inconvenience caused. Our hope is that the additional time taken will allow us to ensure the experience is improved for all our users,” the “Konami Team” explained in a statement published on Twitter.

Update for our followers: pic.twitter.com/uCWiqitO52October 22, 2021

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“We will announce the date and details of the fixes as soon as they are confirmed. In the meantime, we will continue to work on improving the game and look forward to working with you on eFootball 2022. Thank you for your patience.”

eFootball 2022 was launched as the new – and free-to-play – successor of Pro Evolution Soccer, but quickly became one of the worst-reviewed Steam games of all time (opens in new tab). After an embarrassing litany of bugs, glitches, and peculiarities, Konami issued a public apology (opens in new tab) for the issues eFootball 2022 players faced at launch, pledging to deliver an update later this month – which has now been delayed, of course.

“We are very sorry for the problems, and want to assure everyone we will take all concerns seriously and strive to improve the current situation,” Konami said at the time. “This work will be continuously updated, quality will be improved and content will be added consistently. From next week onward, we will prepare for an update in October, while receiving further opinions through questionnaires to our users.”

“The great shame is there was potential to break the mold here,” we said in GameRadar+’s eFootball review (opens in new tab). “The monetization of sports games in recent years screams greed: as I mentioned when reviewing FIFA 22, EA made $1.62 billion last year from purchases made after FIFA, Madden and NHL players had shelled out £50-70 on their initial products. So there should be much to like about a model in which the base game is free, and paid-for extras are down to user choice. For that to work, however, that base game has to function to at least a reasonable level. eFootball 2022 does not.”

If you might want to give eFootball 2022 a miss for now, here’s our list of the best sports games (opens in new tab).

The post eFootball 2022s first update has been delayed to next month appeared first on Game News.

As spotted by VGC (opens in new tab), EA filed an application in the UK and the EU for something called ‘EA Sports FC’ last week. The trademarks were filed shortly before the company revealed it was exploring the possibility of ending its decades-long naming rights agreement with FIFA.

It’s worth noting that EA Sports Football Club was a social feature that existed in the franchise as early as 2011, and ran until 2020. That could mean that the trademark is being renewed in an attempt to resurrect a version of that feature, but could also lend the new name an element of recognition within the series’ established community. 

Original story: EA has surprisingly announced that it’s considering a new name for the FIFA series.

The move comes mere days after rival Konami launched eFootball 2022 (below) in place of its long-standing Pro Evolution Soccer franchise – to furious social media feedback and disastrous reviews. 

EA’s statement came as part of a press release celebrating FIFA 22’s opening weekend, which tallied 9.1 million players, 7.6 million Ultimate Team squads and 460 million matches.

“While we are only at the beginning of our journey with you in this year’s game, we’re also focused on where we go from here,” wrote EA Sports GM Cam Weber.

“We’re here to create the best experiences for football fans everywhere… As we look ahead, we’re also exploring the idea of renaming our global EA Sports football games. This means we’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA, which is separate from all our other official partnerships and licenses across the football world.”

The move would be even more shocking than Konami’s eFootball rebrand – after all, PES itself was pre-dated by the International Superstar Soccer name. In contrast, EA’s football series has been released under the FIFA banner since its 1993 inception on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. 

The timing is curious too. Back in 2013, EA signed a deal with FIFA which ends in 2022 – covering management games in addition to its annual football sim. By going public in the above manner, EA could be preparing the buying masses for FIFA 23 to emerge under a new name, or it may be hoping the threat of losing the series drives down the asking price of re-upping the worldwide license.

Individual deals, such as tie-ins with UEFA, the Premier League, and Serie A, aren’t affected by the FIFA contact. All those competitions will therefore remain in FIFA 23, EA Sports Football 23, Rooney Soccer 23, or whatever else the next installment is called.

FIFA 22 is out now. Just getting started? Then jump on over to our FIFA 22 tips.

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