PES 2017 Announced, Promises "New Heights" for Visuals and Gameplay

Konami today officially announced PES 2017, this year's entry in its professional soccer series. In a press release, the company said the game will reach "new heights of realism and fun," overall elevating the long-running series "to a whole new level."

The focus this year is highlighting "the fun in playing against another player," and the new features aim to represent that. One of these is what Konami calls "Real Touch," a system that will "authentically" reproduce a variety of ways players can receive and control a pass.

Depending on the player, different techniques will be used, all in an effort to better represent the "subtle control nuances as the pass is met."

Another new feature for PES 2017 is the "Precise Pass" system.

"Precise Pass extends the Real Touch basis of using the ability of the player with the ball to determine the accuracy of each pass," Konami said. "The movement of the ball in relation to the position of the player and the intended target for the pass all contribute towards its accuracy, adding a genuine feeling of excitement when a defense is split with an inch-perfect ball.

You can learn more about PES 2017's new features here at the game's website. The game's cover star has not yet been announced; Brazil's Neymar was on the cover of PES 2016.

Like past entries in the series, PES 2017 runs on Konami's Fox Engine, which also powered Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

PES 2017 launches this fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The game will make its debut at the 2016 PES League World Finals this weekend in Milan. More information about the game will be announced at E3 2016 in June.