Previous promo images had shown Dortmund in the game
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer had lost the licence to feature the Champions League in the game.
Despite this, the 2019 version of the game was still excitedly revealed last month, featuring improved visuals, an overhauled myClub mode, and biggest of all, the inclusion of David Beckham as a playable character.
But now there is more bad news for PES fans – Boruissa Dortmund have terminated their agreement with Konami, meaning that Pro Evolution Soccer 19 will not include the club’s bagde, players or the Westfalenstadion.
A statement on Konami’s website said:
“KONAMI and Borussia Dortmund had a license agreement with respect to the use of Borussia Dortmund’s logos, players, stadium and other features in KONAMI products until June 2020. However this agreement was prematurely terminated by Borussia Dortmund. KONAMI will not include Borussia Dortmund’s logos, players, stadium and other features in PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2019.”
Dortmund had been the only Bundesliga club that PES had the official licence for, meaning that they rest of German clubs were all the off-brand, copyright-safe names that the game is infamous for. PES has a few officially licenced clubs – including Liverpool and Barcelona – but lags far behind EA Sport’s FIFA in that regards. So look forward to playing as North Rhine Yellows or whatever.
Promotional images from the game had previously featured Dortmund, so it would appear that they had been included in early builds of the game, and this announcement comes as somewhat of a shock. Konami’s statement however informed gamers and retailers that these scenes shown will “unfortunately not be included in the product”.
The did however add:
Please be assured that the PES series will continue to provide new ways to enjoy soccer through new partnerships with various clubs and leagues.
PES 2019 is out on August 28th.
