eFootball Lets You Pre-purchase Packs With The Game's Most Popular Players

We finally have some details regarding the monetization for Konami's free-to-play version of its eFootball (formerly Pro Evolution Soccer) franchise, and they're -- well, not the worst that they could be, but probably not exactly good either.

The Premium Player pack for the game is currently on sale via its various storefronts (Steam, Xbox, PlayStation), selling for $39.99 and offering 2,800 coins' worth of in-game currency and eight Chance Deals (six if you buy after the preorder window has elapsed). A Chance Deal "allows you to sign 1 of 16 top-tier Ambassador and partner club players." In other words, it's a loot box/pack that will grant you one random high-profile player, like Messi or Neymar.

A few dates to keep in mind: Despite the game launching on September 29, you can't access these packs until November 11; the coins are not available until November 18. If you're the forgetful type, the Chance Deals expire on April 30, 2022 -- yes, those are loot boxes that expire. Also, you can't get the Chance Deals if you live in Belgium, for obvious reasons.

You can buy the bundle more than once, and there is duplicate protection, meaning you can collect all 16 players for $80. Naturally, Konami is making nebulous claims about the game still being accessible to people who don't make those purchases, saying that the game will be "rebalanced to ensure that all players can reach the same potential, regardless of how they acquire in-game items."

It remains to be seen how that will pan out -- probably not as fairly as we'd hope -- so until then I'll put this in the "iffy, but not as iffy as it could be" category. We've seen games with worse loot box implementation, costing you hundreds to get the good characters, and Konami has to make money on the game somehow, but some of the details of this deal just seem a bit off.