eFootball bafflingly beats out FIFA for Commonwealth eSports Championships

eFootball 2022
(Image credit: Konami)

The Commonwealth Esports Championships has unveiled its games line up for later this year, and Konami's eFootball series has made the cut over FIFA.

This is an absolutely wild turn of events. The Commonwealth Sport Twitter account just announced the three games would that feature in the Championships yesterday, revealing that DOTA 2, Rocket League, and eFootball would comprise the line up of titles that competitors will battle it out over in August.

Opting for a soccer game and landing on Konami's much-maligned game is quite the head-scratching decision, to say the least. When eFootball debuted in September 2021, it was beset with bizarre bugs, ugly player models, and abysmal Steam reviews. The new venture for what used to be Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series performed so badly out of the gate that the developer actually apologized for it in the weeks following launch.

Additionally, Konami then delayed the arrival of eFootball's launch update to Spring 2022, and even refunded players who had purchased any premium packs available for the soccer sim. The entire launch period went disastrously for Konami, and we ended up giving the new game a 1.5/5 star rating in our final eFootball review last year in October. 

To put this game forward to the Commonwealth Esports Championships for August is incredibly intriguing. One naturally wonders whether EA just wasn't interested in partnering with the Commonwealth Games for the event, hence the introduction of Konami's eFootball game, or whether the sports organization truly had its heart set on the newer soccer sim from the beginning.

FIFA 22 tips | FIFA 22 best teams | FIFA 22 ratings | FIFA 22 best young players | FIFA 22 Icons | FIFA 22 Heroes | FIFA 22 OTW | FIFA 22 chemistry styles |  FIFA 22 formations | FIFA 22 skill moves | FIFA 22 celebrations | FIFA 22 stadiums | FIFA 22 leagues | FIFA 22 RTTK | FIFA 22 coins | FIFA 22 Career Mode guide 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
FC 25
7 EA FC 25 tips you should know before playing
FC 25
The best FC 25 meta players, tactics and formations
FC 25
FC 25 ratings list sees Kylian Mbappe and Rodri on top
Football Manager 2024
Football Manager 2025 canceled as the developers didn't want to release an unfinished game and fix things "down the line"
The main characters in Pyre stand together and look into the distance, ready for the next match
Goal Oriented: How do developers invent their own sports – even when they're not too fond of the real thing?
FC 25
FC 25 Career Mode guide to scouting, transfers and the best teams to use
Latest in Sports
WWE 2K25 MyFaction
WWE 2K25 MyFaction tips for unlocking Oddities, Persona cards and MFP
FC 25
FC 25 Dreamchasers tracker and full UEFA promo guide
FC 25
FC 25 Season 6 Ladder Players list and how to unlock them all
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 locker codes guide to free MyFaction cards
Skate 4
The Skate reboot isn't even out yet, but it already has an EA specialty: microtransactions
Umaga is a key player in The Bloodline Showcase
How to unlock all wrestlers in WWE 2K25
Latest in News
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil's Charlie Cox isn't in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list – but Marvel fans have an idea about how he might still show up
Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Simu Liu had the best reaction to Shang-Chi’s announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, but fans think it's "criminal" there hasn’t been a direct sequel
Mario faces the camera with a thumbs up pose in Super Smash Bros. Ulimate.
Nintendo Direct March 2025 live – all the Switch news, trailers, and reveals as they happen
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocksteady's rumored single-player Batman game is in development for PC, PS5, Xbox, and "the next generation of consoles"
The Last of Us Part 1
The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann wanted to make sure the first game "was complete" because "I wasn't sure they would ever let me direct a game again"
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode