After a lot of fanfare and promotions, Konami launched eFootball on Steam yesterday. The video game quickly set a record of sorts.
Steams users have collected, but unofficially, awarded Konami’s eFootball 2022, the ‘worst-rated game on Steam’. Interestingly, it took less than 24 hours for the game to earn the concerning title.
Konami essentially launched a ‘barebones’ demo version of eFootball 2022 and hoped to win praises and players?
Konami was undoubtedly a hotly-anticipated video game on Steam. The game promised gameplay full of realism with avatars of top-end footballers from across the world. Even the game’s promotional video stressed this claim.
eFootball officially debuted on Steam on September 30, 2021. Needless to mention, thousands of eager eSports players rushed to play Konami’s game.
Important info for #eFootball fans pic.twitter.com/Tp9RFhmXp9
— eFootball (@play_eFootball) October 1, 2021
Needless to mention, the feedback has been quite concerning, especially for Konami. Although concerning for sure, the angst shouldn’t be surprising.
eFootball 2020 – Trailer Official – FIFA's new rival ? 😱😱 #eFootball2022 pic.twitter.com/d3UPdAwo2O
— Baobab 🇫🇷 (@baobab_tv) September 30, 2021
Konami pushed eFootball with just 9 nine virtual teams. This should have been the only issue the game had as the developer could have added more teams in the near future.
Messi 😯
Ronaldo 😳
Hilarious own-goals 🤣Here are the funniest eFootball glitches 😂 pic.twitter.com/eO0UtVdgxM
— Goal (@goal) October 1, 2021
However, on top of basically launching a demo version of eFootball 2022, the game reportedly had several other issues. Several gamers took to social media highlighting the issue plaguing eFootball.
Please tell me this is fake? #eFootball2022 pic.twitter.com/CiPDzwAqSu
— Matt (@MGH) September 30, 2021
From weird gameplay glitches to graphical oddities, eFootball even suffered from the weird physics of football. Incidentally, Konami had implied that gamers need not keep their expectations high, but indicated that it is working to improve gameplay and in-game content.
The PITY is ours@play_eFootball @Konami @ThePitchIs_Ours @PesVicioBR pic.twitter.com/7cdVQX2El7
— Eduardo (@Edrocun76) September 30, 2021
It seems gamers have conveyed their angst to Konami, who, in turn, issued an apology, and promised to address the multiple issues.
Konami has a detailed and multi-faceted roadmap for eFootball 2022:
PES or Pro Evolution Soccer has been one of the best games from Konami. PES 2013, especially, is still very popular. In fact, there are several “mods” that have kept the game “fresh and relevant” even in 2021.
Just remember this. This is YOUR words !!!!! 🤬 pic.twitter.com/Rx2FwiDQqD
— Jules (@littlebigzouzou) October 1, 2021
Needless to mention, gamers have been waiting for about two years for eFootball 2022 to arrive. If Konami seems to have rushed the game, then the constructive criticism or negative reactions from fans aren’t out of line.
The player faces in eFootball, formerly known as PES, are…something 😳 pic.twitter.com/ITlNvsFyN3
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 30, 2021
Incidentally, Konami has indicated that there is a lot more that players still haven’t received. Surprisingly, the developer has been promising an entirely new game engine rollout. It appears Konami has to further finetune this new engine.
#eFootball™ is on a path to change football gaming forever, and it doesn't stop at launch.
As an evolving platform, we will deliver regular updates and upgrades to players. Including more modes in the future.
Here's our first dev roadmap: https://t.co/5531iazNTu pic.twitter.com/g48vLxLD5z
— eFootball (@play_eFootball) July 21, 2021
A few of the other developments for eFootball 2022 include cross-generation matches, Team Building Mode (TBC), Match Pass System, eSports Tournaments, and cross-platform matches. Konami is also promising gamers could play eFootball on their smartphones with full controller support.