In an interview with WinPes, Konami’s Kei Matsuda confirmed that the next-generation version of Pro Evolution Soccer will use a new engine. On the other hand, the game’s current-gen version will keep using the FOX Engine.

As Matsuda told WinPes when asked about a new engine powering the PES series:

“Our plans focus on the version of the game that is relevant at this time. Updating such technologies is a very risky step. Before creating or releasing anything, you need to evaluate all the risks. In the future we plan to change the main engine, but this will not happen before the time when a new generation of game consoles will appear. On the current generation, the FOX engine will remain forever. We are not planning any changes.”

eFootball PES2020 release next month and since it’s on current-gen platforms only, it still uses the FOX Engine. However, it will be interesting to see what will happen next year with the PES series.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2021 will most likely come out in September 2020. On the other hand, PS5 and Project Scarlett will likely target a November 2020 release. So, will Konami port the FOX Engine versions of these games to these consoles? Will the team release a completely different game using this new engine in 2020? Or will it wait until 2021 so it can release PES 2022 on both current-gen and next-gen platforms?

And what will happen with the PC version? Will Konami keep releasing the current-gen/old-gen (and not the next-gen) version of PES for the next couple of years on the PC? After all, that’s exactly what happened when the series moved on to the FOX Engine. Will history repeat itself?