༺Ƥeຮ༻
Championship
- 13 July 2020
PESBUL 2018 PROJECT • DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
PES 2018
BRINGING THE GAME BACK ONLINE
IN DEVELOPMENT • PRIVATE PC TESTING
Development update • 18 October 2026
01 / WHY PES 2018?
PES 2018 has always been one of my favourite games from the FOX Engine era.
For me, there is something special about its rhythm: the weight of a pass, the way a move develops, the space you can create with a simple first touch. I enjoy the balance between patient football and those moments when a match suddenly opens up. Add its presentation and atmosphere, and it is a game I still want to come back to.
Everyone has their own favourite PES. This is one of mine.
The work on PESBUL 2021 gave me a foundation to build on, and I wanted to explore whether we could bring that online experience back to PES 2018 as well.
That has meant a lot of small steps: studying how the original game communicates, rebuilding missing services, testing with real clients, finding differences between the two games, and correcting assumptions that did not survive an actual test.
Some breakthroughs have opened entire menus. Others have taken us from a connection error to a real match. There have also been regressions that sent us back to the previous stage.
The reason for continuing is simple: I want to play this game online again, properly, with other people who still enjoy it.
02 / WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED
- PC online access and player profiles
The game has successfully connected to the reconstructed services, passed the login flow, created player profiles and reached the online menus in private tests. Account persistence and reconnect handling have also been implemented and tested.
- PES 2018-specific service handling
Login, player information, profile identity, avatar transfer and update responses have received their own PES 2018 adaptations. The project has moved beyond simply using the PES 2021 responses. Some visual and profile details still need further verification.
- Friendly lobby and room groundwork
Native Friendly room creation has been confirmed. Work has also covered player names, room membership, joining and leaving, and keeping the participant list consistent. A consistently reliable Friendly match from joining to the final whistle remains unfinished.
- Matchmaking and real gameplay milestones
Quick Match and Online Divisions have received matchmaking work, including player pairing and search options. Earlier Quick Match builds reached kick-off and real gameplay between test clients. Those matches exposed the simulation-speed problem we are now investigating.
- A working foundation for Game Relay
The PES 2018 connection handshake, participant information and parts of the gameplay transport have been reconstructed. We have captured genuine relay traffic from clients on separate networks, including a mobile internet connection. This is real progress, although reliable full-speed WAN gameplay is still unproven.
03 / THE OTHER PIECES ALREADY IN PLACE
Online Divisions
Server-side work includes matchmaking support and a configurable PESBUL Season Points catalogue covering 478 PES 2018 teams. The administration tools allow those team values to be managed. Complete seasons, rewards and stable ranked matches still need validation through real play.
Quick Match
Quick Match has its own unranked match tracking and connection lifecycle. It has already provided our clearest gameplay milestones. Match preparation is currently being repaired after a recent build failed before kick-off.
CO-OP
CO-OP room access and search flows have been exercised in the original game. Work includes team selection data, room lists and the Start / Cancel / Return lifecycle. Finding opponents reliably and completing cooperative matches still need to be proven.
Team Play
There is partial support for the lobby-to-relay flow, participant lists and connection setup. Team Play remains an unfinished mode; successful multiplayer matches have not been established.
Server administration
A PES 2018-inspired dashboard, Player Directory, online-presence tracking and Match Centre have been implemented. These tools help us follow players, rooms and match preparation, manage settings, and investigate failures without relying only on what appears on screen.
Each mode has its own remaining problems. Progress in one mode does not automatically mean the others are ready.
04 / THE MAIN CHALLENGE: NORMAL WAN GAMEPLAY
In earlier private matches, we reached gameplay but the simulation ran too slowly. A loading indicator could remain visible after kick-off. At the first ball-out stoppage, the indicator cleared and the speed improved, but normal sustained speed was still not confirmed.
This is why reaching the pitch is only one milestone. The match also needs to behave correctly once it starts, and its initial preparation should be completed before kick-off.
The latest test hit another obstacle: the two players were paired, but relay preparation failed before a match could begin. We are investigating the delivery of control messages between the clients, with a corrective build already in development.
That fix still needs a complete connection test, followed by a new real WAN match. Even if it restores match entry, the gameplay-speed issue will need its own verification.
Passing automated checks, connecting two players or building a new version will not be presented as proof that the game is fixed. The result has to hold up in the original game.
05 / WHAT COMES NEXT
- Restore reliable match preparation.
Complete and verify the current relay correction so both clients can pass the checks before kick-off.
- Reach and sustain normal simulation speed over WAN.
Measure what the original game actually executes, alongside how the match feels to the players. A smooth-looking frame rate alone is not enough.
- Make repeated matches dependable.
Check reconnects, cancellations, disconnects, room cleanup and starting a second match without stale session state.
- Finish each mode through real play.
Continue validating Friendly, Quick Match and Online Divisions, then carry the applicable work into CO-OP and Team Play.
- Broaden testing across real networks.
Different routers, providers and connection conditions need to be tested once the current problems are under control.
06 / CURRENT SCOPE
PC is the current development and gameplay-testing focus.
Console compatibility has also been investigated, but PS4/PS5 online play and cross-platform matches remain unverified. myClub has not been established as a working restored mode either.
For now, please approach PESBUL 2018 as a project in active development. Features, compatibility information and access instructions will be shared as they become ready for testing.
FOLLOW THE PROJECT
Development updates, testing news and future access information will be shared in our Discord community.
If PES 2018 is still one of your favourites, you are welcome to follow the progress, share your memories and join the conversation.
JOIN THE PESBUL DISCORD
https://discord.gg/VfvESZdTNK
There is still work to do.
PES 2018 is worth bringing back.
Thank you to everyone who follows the project, helps test it and keeps these games alive.
PESBUL is an independent community project, unaffiliated with KONAMI.
PES 2018 promotional artwork © KONAMI.
