Pro Evolution Soccer has long been one of the most popular and successful sports franchises in the world. However, following the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 in 2018, Konami decided to rebrand the franchise due in part to losing key licenses. Instead of Pro Evolution Soccer, fans were instead delivered eFootball PES 2020, followed by eFootball 2022 most recently. The transition has proven a fiasco, however, and a new Konami trademark hints that a second rebranding could be in the works.
The trademark in question was filed March 15 in Australia for Konami Digital Entertainment. The mark is for a unique spin on the Pro Evolution Soccer name, swapping "Evolution" for "Powerful" to create Pro Powerful Soccer. Given that it was a simple trademark filing, no further details were provided regarding Konami's intent with the branding.
Given that the Pro Powerful Soccer trademark is just that, a trademark filing and nothing more, there's little to speculate on beyond it being a possible new name for Konami's soccer franchise. With the failure of the eFootball series to become successful and the value in the Pro Evolution Soccer branding, Konami could be trying to put a new spin on an old favorite. Without further information, however, that's just a possibility. Konami could be filing the trademark for something entirely different and eFootball could remain its focus.
What's rather funny about the Pro Powerful Soccer trademark is that there's already a game of that name in existence. Pro Powerful Soccer is a gacha game currently available on mobile devices from Hong Kong studio Boltrend Games. It has just 5,000 installs on Google Play, but its existence can't be denied. It may now end up in a battle with Konami for its international trademarks, however, if it wants to press the issue.
Fans can acknowledge that the situation surrounding Konami, and more specifically Pro Evolution Soccer, isn't great right now. The rebranding of Pro Evolution Soccer to eFootball on its own is frustration, to say the least, but it's part of a greater issue at Konami. The company's shifted away from games in most of the ways that matter, and its remaining games have had notable issues -- whether it be egregious monetization or performance problems.
The future of the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise is up in the air. Whether Konami brings it back as eFootball, Pro Powerful Soccer, or something else, fans are going to approach it with a cynicism that would have been hard to imagine five years ago. At the very least, expect news regarding Konami's plans for future soccer games, Pro Evolution Soccer or otherwise, in the months to come.