Konami Says Last-Minute PS Plus Change Was Sony's Decision

When the PS Plus games lineup for July 2019 was announced, PES 2019 was listed as one of the free PS4 games that PlayStation Plus members would be able to download throughout the month. That was later changed, however, with Detroit: Become Human replacing the soccer game at the last minute. The news was shared just hours before the month's games were set to go live, but it was accompanied by no real explanation for why an adjustment was changed. Konami responded to questions about the news by stating it was Sony's decision to change the PlayStation Plus lineup.

In a short statement, a Konami spokesperson told GameSpot: "This decision was made by Sony and so please make an inquiry to Sony."

In its own statement, Sony admitted it had taken the decision itself but declined to elaborate: "We have decided to make a change to the PS Plus games lineup this month, and will be offering Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition instead of PES 2019. This was a decision we decided to make as a company, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

European PES brand manager Lennart Bobzien, meanwhile, told GameSpot on the day of the change that it was not planned and had taken Konami by surprise: "I cannot really tell you what happened because I just found out today, in the morning when I opened my laptop. I can't really explain."

PES 2019's successor is on the way later this year. It's officially titled eFootball: PES 2020--see why PES has changed its name here--and will include Manchester United as a licensed team. It won't, however, feature any women's teams.

PES 2020 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 10. A demo version, which includes online and offline match types as well as the game's edit mode, will launch on July 30. Stay tuned to GameSpot for a full PES 2020 gameplay preview.