April 10 – Konami has announced that its eFootball video game has surpassed one billion cumulative downloads worldwide, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing push to compete with market leader EA Sports.
The figure underlines the scale the free-to-play title has reached since its rebrand from the Pro Evolution Soccer series, with Konami using the moment to launch a series of in-game activations aimed at driving further engagement.
Central to the campaign is ‘Master League Sprint’ a limited-time mode running until April 16, which reintroduces elements of the franchise’s long-standing career format. Through this mode, players can take on managerial responsibilities including transfers, training schedules and squad selection, with match outcomes influenced by team ‘Synergy’, player condition and in-game ‘Episodes’ such as injuries and development boosts.
Daily login incentives and progression-based rewards also form part of the activation, with users able to earn in-game currency and player acquisition opportunities tied to a pool that includes legacy names such as Ronaldinho.
Alongside the in-game push, Konami is extending the eFootball IP into adjacent content, confirming a manga collaboration with Kodansha. The series, titled ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated in PES’, will be distributed via the publisher’s K MANGA platform, reflecting a broader strategy to deepen engagement beyond just the gameplay.
The developers took the opportunity to launch a series of gameplay updates introducing an ‘Advanced Feint Command’ system designed to enhance one-on-one mechanics and bring user control closer to real-world play.
While Konami has not disclosed active user figures, the download milestone offers a clear indication of reach as it continues to position eFootball in a highly competitive football gaming market.
It originally switched to the free-to-play model after falling behind EA Sports’ ‘FIFA’ series, which is now titled FC following the company’s split from FIFA in 2022. That move seems to have paid off and then some, keeping its relevancy as a high quality free-to-play alternative to the FC game without the $90 paywall and consistent need to repurchase every season.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]