This year’s premier football game from EA, EA FC 26, promises to bring major upgrades to so much of what players engage with the most, not to mention evolve decades-long features and modes to bring them into our more connected, live service-driven modern times.
From the two distinct control methods and match types – Competitive and Authentic, the 5 new PlayStyle+ abilities, all the way all to the Manager Career, and Rivals and Champs overhauls – there’s clearly a lot here for new and returning players.
So when can you actually jump in and see it all for yourself? That’s what we’re going to cover in this guide.
Like you may be used to from past EA FC launches, EA FC 26 has two release dates. The Early Access date, and the official launch date one week later. Early Access is available to players who pre-order or own the game’s Ultimate Edition.
Here’s when the game unlocks:
EA FC 26 Ultimate Edition unlock times
- PlayStation and Xbox: Friday, September 19 at midnight local time.
- PC: Thursday, September 18 at 5am PT, 8am ET, 1pm UK.
The Standard Edition of EA FC 26 goes live for everyone else one week after its Early Access release. See below for the schedule.
EA FC 26 Standard Edition unlock times
- PlayStation and Xbox: Friday, September 26 at midnight local time.
- PC: Thursday, September 25 at 5am PT, 8am ET, 1pm UK.
Of course, you don’t have to opt for the game’s most expensive edition to play early, because FC 26 will also be playable at those same times through EA Play, EA’s game subscription service. The ten-hour EA Play trial returns, and it’s available across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. As the name suggests, the trial lets you play FC 26 for ten hours, saving your progress if/when you do get the full game. You can’t play past ten hours using this basic tier of EA Play, but you can space out your ten hours over the week if you’re careful.
The more expensive tier of EA Play, EA Play Pro, offers unlimited access from the moment the Ultimate Edition unlocks. EA Play Pro includes FC 26: Ultimate Edition by default, meaning you’re going to have access to that version of the game for as long as your subscription is active.
EA Play Pro is only available on PC, however, so keep that in mind if you’re playing on PlayStation or Xbox – though with cross-play support (within the same generation), you shouldn’t have to worry too much about finding other people to play with.
The basic tier of EA Play costs $6 per month, whereas Pro is $17 per month. If you only tend to play those games for a month or two, it might make more sense to subscribe to Pro rather than buy the full version.
EA has a few other bonuses to keep players who jump in early engaged, making the Early Access launch a little special. There will be daily Knockout Tournaments throughout Early Access, including a one-time finale just for those players that takes place on the final day of Early Access.
You can also look forward to:
- Team of the Week 1 and 2.
- Evolutions.
- World Tour and Squad Foundations releases.
- Flashback SBC.
- Showdown SBCs.
- Opportunities to earn Season Points.
On top of that, all Ultimate Edition owners will receive 2,000 points the first time they log into the game, 2,000 more one month from that day, and another 2,000 the month after. You’ll also get two EVO slots that let you upgrade two Evolution players (in standard evolutions) simultaneously, available immediately at launch.
We’ll bring you more EA FC 26 after the game goes live. For now, you can catch up on the previously announced highest rated Premier League and WSL players, alongside all other ratings for the highest rated players.