Konami is stepping away from the PES moniker but that will not be the only part of the identity eFootball will be missing at launch.
Konami's decision to move away from PES and push further into eFootball also meant making changes to their business plan. Massive focus on myClub will undoubtedly come later but the F2P approach will also force some other changes.
For example, the free-to-play part will initially be a mere demo - Konami confirmed as much themselves. As such, it will initially be missing some key elements that made PES series great, such as the Master League.
The company noted it will only be missing at launch but it will be released later on. That said, ML will not be a part of the free to play ecosystem as it will arrive in the form of " premium downloadable content ". In simple terms, it will be released post-launch as paid DLC. Hopefully, it will be a buy to play type of deal, without squeezing additional microtransactions for licenses and other such things. That said, with eFootball stepping away from annual releases, it's highly possible Master Leagues will be seen as one of the ways for Konami to grab recurring revenue.
Considering the horrendous approach to "difficulty" in recent PES entries, such as the egregious scripting and nerfing of the player's squad, let's hope this new Master League will be better in order to drive sales, if nothing else.
