‘No plans’ for women’s football in PES 2020

Konami currently has no plans to introduce female players in eFootball PES 2020.

Interest in the women’s game is thought to be at an all-time high as the 2019 Women’s World Cup approaches its conclusion this weekend, with reigning champions USA set to take on the Netherlands in Sunday’s final.

Rival football series FIFA (pictured) introduced women’s international football in 2016, but Konami’s long-running franchise has yet to offer female representation in any capacity, something that’s not expected to change this year.

“I personally support the women’s game and have been following the World Cup closely,” eFootball PES European brand manager Lennart Bobzien told GameSpot. “However we currently don’t have any plans to integrate women into eFootball PES 2020.”

In April 2018, Konami claimed its football series had reached 100 million sales worldwide since launching in 1995.

It rebranded the franchise this year, adding ‘eFootball’ to the title in a bid to highlight its growing focus on the esports market.

Additionally, the company hopes the new product name will benefit the series in Europe.

Konami will launch an eFootball PES 2020 demo on July 30 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. It will include access to the game’s online and edit modes, plus 14 playable teams including Barcelona, Arsenal and Boca Juniors.

The eFootball PES 2020 release date is September 10, 2019.