PES 2020 Snaps Up Another Exclusive Team Licence

Konami continues to add more teams to its growing roster of exclusive licences in the upcoming eFootball PES 2020.

Argentine powerhouse Club Atlético River Plate is the latest team to appear exclusively in PES 2020, following in the footsteps of their arch-rivals Atlético Boca Juniors. River Plate’s name, logo, kits, and stadium will only grace the pitch of PES 2020 in this year’s annual release. As a result, the Buenos Aires club will now be called Núñez in FIFA 20, named after the neighbourhood the team plays in. This is similar to last year when Boca Juniors were renamed Buenos Aires in FIFA 19.

If you want to play out the intense rivalry of the Superclásico in FIFA 20, you’re going to be stuck with Núñez vs Buenos Aires. Of course, FIFA will still retain player likenesses for both teams, in much the same way as it has done with Juventus. The Cristiano Ronaldo-led Italian giants signed an exclusive deal with PES 2020 last month, resulting in the club’s name change to Piemonte Calcio in FIFA 20.

Unlike PES, FIFA players are unable to edit the names, logos, and kits of these unlicensed teams. This has lead to some frustration on behalf of FIFA’s most ardent fans, who have grown accustomed to each and every team being fully licenced. PES 2020 brand manager, Adam Bhatti, opened up about team exclusivity in a series of tweets last month, to explain Konami’s stance on the situation.

“I do understand those claiming exclusive licenses is bad for consumers,” Bhatti began. “I’d love a world where everything is shared, and the game does the talking. We have always had to deal with this continuous blockout–having the [Premier League] in PES would be great for example. However, the big teams want to feel they are in an actual partnership, not just bought to block out competitors. Everyone knows we cannot outspend EA, it’s the quality of recreation and commitment to being a true partner sharing the clubs values–that’s why we’re back.”

It’s a signal of intent for Konami after years of losing out to the EA juggernaut. The company previously signed a four-year deal with German club Borussia Dortmund, and the famous black and yellow kits were even included in promotional material for PES 19. Then, rather unceremoniously, the club prematurely tore up its contract a year early to exclusively appear in FIFA. This followed EA snatching up the Champions League licence from PES’ grasp after a decade of exclusivity for the Japanese publisher, and there are plenty of other examples of the one-sided contest between the two games, at least when it comes to licencing.

If you want to play as Boca Juniors, River Plate, or Juventus right now, a demo for PES 2020 is currently available, or you can read our feature on how PES 2020’s changes impact this year’s game.

eFootball PES 2020 releases on September 10 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

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