You can play EA Sports FC 27 today if you own an Xbox

Have you pre-ordered EA Sports FC 27? (EA)

If you can’t bear to wait to take part in EA Sports FC 27’s early access period and own an Xbox, there is a way to start playing right now.

Officially, EA Sports FC 27 doesn’t launch until next week, on September 25, but as always that’s not entirely true, thanks to the option of an early access period.

As with previous entries, EA is including early access alongside pre-orders of EA Sports FC 27, although only for the more expensive Ultimate and Ultimate Plus editions (and the latter isn’t even available for purchase any more).

Early access begins at midnight tonight but in case you weren’t aware, it’s possible for you to start playing the game right now if you can’t bear to wait… at least if you own an Xbox.

Since early access unlocks at midnight local time for every region, all you need to do is trick your Xbox console into thinking you’re based somewhere where it’s already gone past midnight, such as New Zealand.

In case you weren’t aware, this is a common trick people have been using to play games ever so slightly earlier than they should and it’s remarkably simple to pull off.

How to do the New Zealand trick and play EA Sports FC 27 early

To pull off the New Zealand trick, you just need to change your location settings on your Xbox.

You can do this by opening the console’s settings menu and, from there, selecting the Systems tab. You should then see an option for Language and Location.

Once you’ve swapped your location to New Zealand, simply restart the console and you should be able to start playing EA Sports FC 27.

Unfortunately, this trick can’t be pulled off on any other platforms, so PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and PC owners are out of luck. Not that you need to wait much longer to start playing.

When does EA Sports FC 27 launch publicly?

If you’ve only pre-ordered the standard edition of EA Sports FC 27, the game will go live at midnight on September 25 (so the night of September 24) on your platform of choice.

For the most dedicated of football fans, EA has also launched a separate EA Sports FC 27 companion app available on web browsers and mobile devices.

The purpose of the app is to let you access and manage your Ultimate Team without needing to boot up the game.

Obviously, you’ll need to sign in with the same EA account that you use for EA Sports FC 27 and you’ll have to already have made an Ultimate Team in the game.

Have you already started playing? (EA)

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