- KONAMI's latest title KICK BUDS opens playtest which is live until March 25, 2026.
- The playtest is available on Android, iOS, and PC via Steam in select regions.
KONAMI has made a football-related announcement, and it is different from eFootball. The developer has quietly kicked off the playtest of KICK BUDS, its upcoming party royale-style football game, and is giving players in select regions an early chance to try its gameplay experience.
The playtest is currently live and will run until March 25, 2026, across Android, iOS, and PC via Steam, but it’s limited to the following regions: Brazil, Mexico, the U.S.A, Germany, France, Italy, Türkiye, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan.
KICK BUDS brings a party royale-style football with a chaotic gameplay feel
From what’s been shown so far, KICK BUDS is far from a traditional football experience, well, pretty evident, right? Instead of realistic gameplay, it leans into this chaotic, arcade-style fun, where matches feel more like survival rounds than actual football.
You’re not just scoring goals, you’re dodging obstacles, using weird mechanics, and basically trying to outlast everyone else on the field. At first glance, I thought this was a new party royale game, but this is kind of fun in its own right.
If you’ve played eFootball before, you might remember Strike Arena game mode, which already experimented with a more casual and creative version of football in a 3v3 format. KICK BUDS feels like that idea pushed much further and in a different setting.
There are no real players or licenses here, just quirky characters, bright visuals, and over-the-top gameplay elements. You don’t need to worry about tactics, and instead, amongst the chaos, you focus more on timing, movement, and just reacting to everything around you.
As I mentioned earlier, the playtest for KICK BUDS is region-locked, so not everyone will be able to jump in right away. If you’re in a supported region, you can download via the Google Play Store and Apple TestFlight on your respective devices. Visit the official website for more info.
Read other related articles:
- Scritchy Scratchy delivers a fun, harmless casino-style progression experience as you scratch cards, arriving very soon on mobile and PC
- DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY is all set to bring its 3v3 boss battles on March 23, 2026; pre-registration is now open
- DRAGON QUEST Smash/Grow mixes signature attacks with dynamic roguelite gameplay, pre-registration now live on mobile
- Total Football returns with a closed beta for Android in the SEA regions
For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp Channel, Telegram Group, or Discord server. Also, follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Google News for quick updates.
