eFootball 2022's first update has been delayed to next month

Konami has delayed an update to its newly-launched free-to-play eFootball 2022 in order to "ensure the experience is improved for all [its] users".

The update – which will now roll out in November – was initially expected by the end of this month, October, but Konami says it needs "additional time" and says it will announce the date and details of the fixes "as soon as they are confirmed". 

"We would like to inform users that we have decided to delay the release of version 0.9.1. to early November. We sincerely apologize for the delay and the inconvenience caused. Our hope is that the additional time taken will allow us to ensure the experience is improved for all our users," the "Konami Team" explained in a statement published on Twitter.

"We will announce the date and details of the fixes as soon as they are confirmed. In the meantime, we will continue to work on improving the game and look forward to working with you on eFootball 2022. Thank you for your patience."

eFootball 2022 was launched as the new – and free-to-play – successor of Pro Evolution Soccer, but quickly became one of the worst-reviewed Steam games of all time. After an embarrassing litany of bugs, glitches, and peculiarities, Konami issued a public apology for the issues eFootball 2022 players faced at launch, pledging to deliver an update later this month – which has now been delayed, of course.

"We are very sorry for the problems, and want to assure everyone we will take all concerns seriously and strive to improve the current situation," Konami said at the time. "This work will be continuously updated, quality will be improved and content will be added consistently. From next week onward, we will prepare for an update in October, while receiving further opinions through questionnaires to our users."

"The great shame is there was potential to break the mold here," we said in GameRadar+'s eFootball review. "The monetization of sports games in recent years screams greed: as I mentioned when reviewing FIFA 22, EA made $1.62 billion last year from purchases made after FIFA, Madden and NHL players had shelled out £50-70 on their initial products. So there should be much to like about a model in which the base game is free, and paid-for extras are down to user choice. For that to work, however, that base game has to function to at least a reasonable level. eFootball 2022 does not."

If you might want to give eFootball 2022 a miss for now, here's our list of the best sports games.