What time does EA Sports FC 27 go live? Digital release time in your region and New Zealand trick

It’s that time of year again, where the latest edition of the EA Sports FC series nears release.

If you’ve pre-ordered the game and want to know exactly when you’ll be able to get your hands on it, we’ve got all the information below.

What’s more, if you’ve pre-ordered on Xbox, you can use the New Zealand trick (as is the case with a number of Xbox games in the past) to start playing on Early Access right now.

Read on, then, to find out exactly when you can start playing EA Sports FC 27.

EA Sports FC 27 Early Access release time

Although the main release date for EA Sports FC 27 is September 25, players who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition will get access from September 18.

If you’re playing on PC, the game goes live at exactly the same time all around the world. This time is as follows:

• Los Angeles (PT) – September 17 at 4pm
• New York (ET) – September 17 at 7pm
• London (BST) – September 18 at midnight (the night of September 17)
• France (CEST) – September 18 at 1am
• Tokyo (JST) – September 18 at 8am
• Sydney (AEST) – September 18 at 9am
• New Zealand (NZST) – September 18 at 11am

If you’re playing on console, the game goes live at midnight in your region. That means wherever you live in the world, when it hits midnight and the date changes from September 17 to September 18, you can start playing EA Sports FC 27.

If you’re playing on Xbox there’s a way to get round that with the New Zealand trick, which you can find at the end of this article. But first, the times for the Standard Edition.

EA Sports FC 27 Standard Edition release time

If you aren’t fussed about the Ultimate Edition and are happy to wait for the Standard Edition, the times are basically the same but a week later.

This means if you’re playing on PC, the game still goes live at the same time all around the world, which is:

• Los Angeles (PT) – September 24 at 4pm
• New York (ET) – September 24 at 7pm
• London (BST) – September 25 at midnight (the night of September 24)
• France (CEST) – September 25 at 1am
• Tokyo (JST) – September 25 at 8am
• Sydney (AEST) – September 25 at 9am
• New Zealand (NZST) – September 25 at 11am

If you’re playing on console, the game goes live at midnight in your region. That means wherever you live in the world, when it hits midnight and the date changes from September 24 to September 25, you can start playing EA Sports FC 27.

EA Sports FC 27 – The New Zealand trick on Xbox

If you pre-ordered the Xbox version of the game, you can start playing EA Sports FC a little earlier than you’re supposed to.

If you know your time zones you’ll realise that with so many countries all getting the game at midnight, that means some will be getting it earlier than others.

Specifically, because New Zealand’s time zone is ahead of every other country in the world, players there will get to play before anyone else.

Luckily, there’s a way for Xbox players to temporarily pretend they’re in New Zealand so they can get access to the game too. All you have to do is:

• Go to the console’s Settings menu
• Go to the System tab
• Go to Language and Location
• Change the location of your console to New Zealand
• Fully restart the Xbox
• Launch the game from your library
• Since midnight has already passed in New Zealand, this basically means you can already start playing the Early Access edition now.

Just remember to switch it back to your own country once the game’s officially out where you live, to ensure you get the right digital stores and the like.