Is PES fighting back in the football licensing war? Konami has announced PES 2020 has Italian super club Juventus as an exclusive – but this isn’t like the recent deal it signed for Manchester United. PES has a proper exclusive on the club, which means Juventus will not be in FIFA 20.
Konami’s deal with the Serie A giant means FIFA – and any other football game for that matter – has to use a generic team name and not Juventus. Player names are not exclusive as this is negotiated through a separate licence (so Cristiano Ronaldo is still in FIFA 20). But Juventus’ kits, crest, stadium and, crucially, name are all exclusive to PES 2020.
This is obviously massive for Konami and PES, which has struggled to compete with EA Sports when it comes to football licenses in recent years. As for EA Sports, while it still retains a vice-like grip over the licenses the majority of fans want, it’s just suffered a surprising bloody nose from its underdog rival.
