Fresh off of reaching another exclusive licensing agreement, eFootball PES is eyeing another jump for its next title. According to PES Producer Seitaro Kimura, PES 2022 is shooting for photorealism in a big way. In an interview with Play Magazine, the Konami dev dished on some major graphical features coming to PES‘ next-gen game.
PES 2022 Photorealistic Features
- Stadium atmosphere and “enthusiastic” supporters
- Facial Expressions
- Sweat
- Muscle Movement
- Uniform seams
- Transition for Fox to Unreal Engine
“The ‘photorealism’ we aim for is exactly the reproduction of the real world itself,” Kimura told Play. “I think it is important to be able to experience the excitement and sense of accomplishment that football has, in the game.”
It remains to be seen whether PES 2022 will run on Unreal Engine 4 or 5. If it turns out to be UE5, gamers could be in for one of the best-looking soccer games we’ve ever seen. eFootball PES has lagged the iconic FIFA series in terms of sales, but a rivalry appears to be brewing on the virtual pitch.
PES has nabbed the exclusive rights to four Italian clubs from EA Sports’ ever-popular soccer sim dating back to 2019. EA has also seen its share of controversy over the past 152 days. Back in April, a leaked company document all but confirmed that the FIFA publisher was solely focused on pushing its gamers towards its microtransaction-heavy Ultimate Team mode. The month prior, EA Sports found itself tangled up in another FUT scandal.