Konami's International Superstar Soccer Gets Updated for the 2026 World Cup
Konami has released an updated version of International Superstar Soccer for the 2026 World Cup, bringing new teams, updated rosters, and modern features to the classic football game.
Background
• International Superstar Soccer (ISS) was Konami's flagship soccer game series in the 1990s, rivaling EA's FIFA on platforms like the Super Nintendo and PlayStation. Unlike FIFA, ISS used fictionalized player names but was praised for its arcade-style gameplay.
• The series effectively ended in the early 2000s when Konami split its soccer output into the more simulation-oriented Pro Evolution Soccer (later eFootball). ISS has had no major new entries for over two decades.
• This brief — that Konami has "updated" ISS for the 2026 World Cup — appears to be a satire or fictional April Fools-style piece from Time Extension, a retro gaming site. The URL itself (dated 2026) is a strong signal, as is the fact that Konami has shown no interest in reviving the ISS brand in any real capacity.
• The joke plays on the nostalgia of older gamers who remember ISS fondly, and on the endless cycle of yearly sports-game updates — imagining what it would look like if Konami, instead of pushing modern eFootball, simply dusted off a 1990s classic.