Premier League club Manchester United will partner with Japanese video game maker Konami Digital Entertainment and its ‘PES’ football game under a new multi-year deal.
The deal brings to an end the club’s collaboration with rival gaming brand EA Sports, which has held the licensing rights with United for its Fifa game since 2016.
Under the deal, Konami will create a detailed simulation of the club’s famous Old Trafford stadium, and use full-body 3D scanning technology to make realistic representations of United players.
The game features a new ‘Matchday’ mode that will allow fans to team up and play in weekly competition games, which coincide with real-world football matches.
Teams and players with the highest points score will go on to compete in a Grand Final.
An exclusive Manchester United Club edition of the game will also be available at launch.
United player Scott McTominay, a keen gamer, has been selected as an ambassador for PES 2020, the next edition of the game which will go on sale this autumn.
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In addition to United, Konami has the official license for major European clubs Arsenal, and Barcelona. An upgraded deal with Arsenal was signed this week, and will run until June 2022.
Konami’s former deals with Liverpool and Inter Milan terminated on June 30, 2019. A deal with Borussia Dortmund was terminated prematurely in favour of EA Sports in June 2018.
Konami’s biggest deal is the sponsorship and licensing contract with Barcelona that gives Konami perimeter board branding rights at the Camp Nou and rights to use Barcelona player imagery on its game covers.