FC 25 Early Access Times and Release Dates: When Can You Start Playing?

How do you play FC 25 early? The official release date for the game is 27th September 2025, but there are ways to start playing up to a week early. There are a few different ways you can gain early access and either get started on the Career Mode or gain a headstart on your Ultimate Team. In this FC 25 guide, we will reveal how to play FC 25 early, covering its Early Access and Ultimate Edition options.

FC 25 Early Access Times and Release Dates: When Can You Start Playing?

If you want to get up to one week of FC 25 Early Access, you have two options open to you: subscribe to EA Play or pre-order the Ultimate Edition. Using either method will allow you to play from 20th September 2024, meaning you can play the game seven days before everyone else. Below, we're going to explain both the EA Play Trial and Ultimate Edition in more detail.

No matter which method of FC 25 Early Access you opt for below, though, you can start playing on 20th September 2024 at midnight in your local time zone. This goes for every time zone there in the world, and doesn't translate into a different time elsewhere. While another region may get access first, every time zone gets FC 25 Early Access from midnight on 20th September 2024. This goes for all console versions of the game, while PC players have time-zone-specific hours they gain access/

FC 25 Ultimate Edition Early Access Release Date

By pre-ordering the FC 25 Ultimate Edition from your console's digital store, you can start playing the game from 20th September 2024. This means you can get started one week before the official release date of the standard version. If you opt for the Ultimate Edition, you'll also get the following bonuses:

• PS5 and PS4 versions (dual entitlement)
• 4,600 FC Points
• Player Evolution Slot
• Early access to Rush rewards
• Cover star loan player item in Ultimate Team (10 matches)
• 1 Ambassador loan player pick item in Ultimate Team (10 matches)
• Unlocked PlayStyles slot in Clubs
• 250,000 Clubs Coins
• Additional player personality points in Player Career Mode
• 3 Icons to play as in Player Career Mode (Beckham, Ronaldo, and Zidane)
• 5-star coach available to hire in Manager Career Mode
• 5-star youth coach available to hire in Manager Career Mode

The FC 25 Ultimate Edition costs £99.99 / $99.99, but you can save 10% if you subscribe to EA Play. While it is quite a bit more expensive than the standard version, you'll make much of your money back in the long run thanks to the 4,600 FC Points included that you can spend on Ultimate Team player packs. If you're looking to play FC 25 for the entire year, then the Ultimate Edition is worth the investment.

Having pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition and pre-loaded it in the days before the Early Access release, you will be able to start playing from midnight in your timezone on 20th September 2024. With the other bonuses included, you can begin building your Ultimate Team, jump into Clubs, or start a Career Mode playthrough. The whole game will be open to you seven days early, giving you a big headstart on those waiting for the standard release. While the FC 25 Ultimate Edition will always be available, you'll get the most value out of it if you pre-order before the 7 days of FC 25 Early Access goes live on 20th September 2024.

FC 25 EA Play Trial Release Date

If you don't want to cough up the cash for the Ultimate Edition, then the other option you can explore is the EA Play Trial. EA Play is EA's subscription service, which lets you download and play the publisher's games without any extra charge along with a list of other bonuses, with early access to FC 25 being one of them. Through an EA Play membership, you can play FC 25 for 10 hours from 20th September 2024. Once the 10 hours is up, you'll lose access to FC 25 and must either buy the Ultimate Edition or wait for the standard version releasing one week later. There is an EA Play Pro option that gives you complete access to the full game, but this is only available on PC.

A subscription to EA Play on consoles costs £5.99 / $5.99 per month, or £35.99 / $39.99 for a year. If you play FC 25 while having an EA Play membership, you'll gain access to additional bonuses like a 10% discount on FC Points purchases, monthly Ultimate Team Draft tokens, and seasonal rewards for Clubs. You must maintain a subscription to EA Play to receive these items. For more information, refer to our All EA Play Games on PS5, PS4 guide.

You only need to subscribe for 1 month to access the FC 25 EA Play Trial, and all your save data and progress will carry over to the full game once your 10-hour timer expires. All the player cards you earn in Ultimate Team will be waiting for you also. It's essentially FC 25 in its complete form for 10 hours of play, and then you need to buy the game.

What makes the offer even better is it's currently cheaper to subscribe to EA Play than ever before. Until 26th September 2024, you can get a one-month membership for just £1 / $1. This means you can access the FC 25 Trial on EA Play for that price, and still gain access to all the other benefits of the service. If you don't want to commit too much money upfront, this is far and away your best option for gaining FC 25 Early Access.

Did you find our guide covering FC 25 Early Access and Release Dates helpful? Tell us which option you're opting for to play FC 25 early in the comments below.