Luis Suárez will be the cover star of Konami’s upcoming PES 2018 – not Lionel Messi, as many would have expected.
But Messi fans shouldn’t be too disappointed.
The Argentine, 30, will feature on a more expensive ‘Legendary edition’ of the game – along with Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Roberto.
“I’m a big fan of PES, so it’s a real honour for me to be on this year’s cover,” said Suárez.
“Every year this game gets better and better and the work put into making PES 2018 really shows. I can’t believe how real, and lifelike I look in this year’s game. It’s simply amazing.”
The 30-year-old heads up PES 2018 after scoring more than 100 goals for Barcelona, helping the club secure a spot in the upcoming UEFA Champions League competition.
PES 2018 boasts more new features than any PES title in the last 10 years, as it looks to go head to head with FIFA 18 in September.
The series’ famed gameplay offers total control over the on-field action, as users guide players that behave, move and react just like their real-life counterparts.
New additions to the control systems add more fluidity to the game, while a rejigged user interface makes menus easier to navigate.
Full 11-Vs-11 online options are joined by co-operative 2-Vs-2 and 3-Vs-3 modes with support for local guests.
The much-requested ‘Random Selection’ match returns with all new content, while the Master League implements pre-season tournaments, a new transfer system, pre-match interviews and an insight to the changing rooms.
Similarly, ahead of next season’s eSports tournament, the official PES LEAGUE has been integrated into the main game.
“Luis Suárez is to us the best and most complete striker in the world with a history that speaks for itself – we expect to see him break top scoring records in the upcoming season,” said Konami’s Jonas Lygaard.
“We’re really excited to be working with him and have invested a lot of resources to properly recreate his skills and movements in PES 2018.
“We’re going to debut a new build of the game at this year’s Gamescom and can’t wait for gamers to get a chance to see a new benchmark of gameplay and the realism of Suarez!”
PES 2018 will be released on September 14th for PS 4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Notably, there will be no Nintendo Switch version this year.