Konami to end partnership with UEFA

The very successful and beneficial partnership between Konami and UEFA will come to an end after the 2018 UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv. The UEFA Champions League has been an incredible opportunity for Konami as both a media and activation platform, particularly due to its feature in Konami’s well-loved Pro Evolution Soccer series.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director UEFA Events SA, told press that Konami has been a great partner for the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Champions League, with both featuring heavily in the games. Konami even organised the UEFA Champions League esports tournaments, bringing fans closer to the game they love in a digital format than they ever have before.

Epstein went on to thank Konami for the cooperation they’ve had over the last decade, and the commitment they’ve shown to UEFA and their club competitions. They look forward to working with Konami in the future within the sphere of UEFA national team football.

Senior Director and of Brand and Business Development for Konami, Jonas Lygaard told press that Konami are grateful for the partnership they’ve had with UEFA these last ten years. It has been a great platform for them to create amazing experiences for football fans around the world who want to enjoy the competition on their home consoles. However, this year Konami is moving away from this partnership, but will continue to explore ways in which they can work with UEFA in the future, maintaining a strong relationship.

Pro Evolution Soccer has always been a close contender for best football game on the market, but football fans seem to have decided FIFA is the king of football games. It’s long been speculated that EA or Konami might move their football franchises to a digital platform that receives updates each year, instead of a new game releasing every year. This could be the start of Konami making that move, hoping to beat EA and become the first digital football title that doesn’t see new releases each year. However, if Konami is moving towards this type of platform then EA must be too, since the publisher rarely misses out on new trends in gaming such as battle royale which might be coming to Battlefield 5.