At What Time Does EA FC 27 Early Access Start?

EA FC 27 is almost here, and players eager to hit the pitch are all asking the same question: what time does early access start? If you’ve pre-ordered an eligible edition of the game, you can jump in before its official worldwide release. However, you’ll need to know exactly when the early access period goes live if you want to take full advantage of your edition.

In this guide, we’ll break down the EA FC 27 early access start time, including when eligible players in different regions can begin playing. We’ll also explain who gets early access and how you can still get in before anyone else, prior to the official release date on Sept. 25, 2026.

What Exact Time Is EA FC 27 Early Access?

Early access has become an annual tradition for all sports games, especially those under the EA Sports umbrella. This period lets willing players play up to a week before everyone else, and you keep all the progress you make during early access in the full release. Superfans of EA FC 27 will, understandably, see the immense benefit of this bonus, as you basically get a week-long head start over the rest of the player base.

When it comes to the precise time that early access begins in EA FC 27, it’s dependent on where you are in the world as well as what platform you’re on. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the early access rollout will work:

• If you’re on PC and purchase the Ultimate/Ultimate Plus Edition of EA FC 27, early access launches at 11 pm UTC on Sept. 17, 2026. That equates to the following times in other regions:
  • 4 pm PT
  • 6 pm CT
  • 7 pm ET
  • 12 am CEST (Sept. 18)
  • 4:30 am IST (Sept. 18)
  • 8:00 am JST (Sept. 18)
  • 9:00 am AEST (Sept. 18)
• If you purchase the Ultimate Edition/Ultimate Plus of EA FC 27 on eitherPlayStation 4/5 or Xbox One/Series X|S, then the game launches at 12 am local time on Sept. 18. This means the rollout is region-specific, so players in New Zealand and Australia will get to play several hours before players in Europe and the U.S. However, this also means the New Zealand trick should work to play early.
• The EA Play Pro Edition on PC also gives players seven days of early access starting on Sept. 18, but the exact time this edition gets access is unknown at this point.
• If you’re an EA Play subscriber, then you get a free 10-hour trial to EA FC 27 starting on Sept. 18, presumably at midnight local time but that’s unconfirmed.

Those are the four ways to get early access to EA FC 27, but the early access start time differs slightly for each method. What that means is that Ultimate Edition players on PC all get early access at the same time, while Ultimate Edition players on console have to wait until midnight local time on Sept. 18.

Then, the EA Play Pro Edition and EA Play players will have to wait for further confirmation about when their early access begins. However, it will likely be around the same time Ultimate Edition players can start playing.

If you’re still deciding whether to buy early access for EA FC 27, check out our comparison of the Ultimate and Ultimate Plus Editions.