It’s that time of the year, soccer… I mean, football fans! EA Sports FC 26 – the latest edition of EA’s annual series that we can’t call FIFA anymore but everyone still calls FIFA anyway – is here. Or almost here.
You might be wondering when exactly you can play EA Sports FC 26. Don’t worry, because I’ve got you covered with all the launch times, including when the game goes live in early access.
EA Play subscribers can start playing EA Sports FC 26 right now. A 10-hour trial for EA Play members is live, and EA Play Pro members on PC get unlimited access to the game.
EA Sports FC 26 Early Access Release Times
Those who have snapped up EA Sports FC 26 Ultimate Edition can dive into the game on PC – via the EA App, Steam, Epic Games Store and Amazon Luna – at the following times (all times are local):
- New Zealand (Auckland): September 19 at 11AM
- Australia (Sydney): September 19 at 9AM
- China (Beijing): September 19 at 7AM
- Romania (Bucharest): September 19 at 2AM
- France (Paris): September 19 at 1AM
- United Kingdom (London): September 19 at 12AM
- United States (New York): September 18 at 7AM
On PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles, those who are buying EA Sports FC 26 Ultimate Edition can start playing at midnight local time on September 19.
EA Sports FC 26 Worldwide Launch Time
For everyone who opted for the standard edition of EA Sports FC 26 (shout out to everyone who is happy to save a few bucks and wait until the worldwide launch), the game will go live next week.
EA Sports FC 26 Standard Edition goes live at midnight local time on September 26 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
If you’re playing on PC, you might be able to get in early, depending on where you are in the world. EA Sports FC 26 Standard Edition goes live on PC at 8AM EST on September 25. You can click here to see when that is in your time zone.
I’ve played a couple of hours of EA Sports FC 26 and I’m having fun with it so far. I didn’t really play last year’s edition, so the No Rules game mode is new to me and it’s blast versus the AI. I played a game of that against my dad’s favorite team (my team’s bitter cross-city rivals) and had a grand old time hacking away at the legs of their players without incurring a foul. Wholesome fun for all the family.
Follow my blog for more coverage of EA Sports FC 26, other video games and word games. It helps me out a lot! Sign up for my newsletter, Pastimes, for free too.