FC 26 Release Date and Launch Time Revealed: Editions, Pre-Order Bonuses, and All the Latest News
Another year, another FC—fresh kits, louder hype, and just enough tweaks to spark debate. Evolution or expensive déjà vu?
EA Sports FC 26 is basically doing the staggered rollout tango again this year, and yes, there are some quirks. PC gets in a day earlier than console, early access is already live if you paid up, and the cover star situation is a nice little duo. If you skipped FC 25 (a lot of people did) or you are eyeing the competition, here is the clean, no-fuss breakdown.
Release date and platforms
FC 26 officially lands on 26 September 2025 for PlayStation and Xbox. On PC, it goes live one day earlier, on 25 September 2025. EA stamped those dates in the reveal trailer that dropped in July.
Exact launch times
On console, FC 26 unlocks at midnight local time. Translation: everyone hits play when their clock strikes 12. That means the UK turns the lights on an hour after France and Germany, and New Zealand is laughing at all of us by getting in roughly 11 hours ahead.
On PC, it is a global simultaneous release on 25 September. It goes live at 1pm BST, which lines up like this around the world:
- US West Coast (PDT) - 5am, 25 September
- US Mountain (MDT) - 6am, 25 September
- US Central (CDT) - 7am, 25 September
- US East Coast (EDT) - 8am, 25 September
- UK (BST) - 1pm, 25 September
- Central Europe (CEST) - 2pm, 25 September
- Japan (JST) - 9pm, 25 September
- Australia East Coast (AEST) - 10pm, 25 September
- New Zealand (NZST) - 12am, 26 September
Early access
Early access started on 19 September 2025, a full week ahead of the wide release. You only get in early if you buy the Ultimate Edition.
Cover stars and trailer
Jude Bellingham returns as the cover star, and Bayern Munich standout Jamal Musiala joins him for this year. The official reveal trailer hit in July with a first look at new gameplay tweaks.
Editions and what you actually get
There are two versions: Standard and Ultimate.
The Standard Edition is £59.99. It includes Clubs rewards (an Archetype Unlock Consumable and two Double AXP for 10 Matches Consumables) plus Career perks (three ICON Career Players, a 5-Star Coach you can hire in Manager Career, a 5-Star Youth Scout you can hire in Manager Career, and Manager Live Challenge content).
The Ultimate Edition is £89.99. You get up to seven days of early access, the Season 1 Premium Pass, 6,000 FC Points spread across two months, one extra Ultimate Team Player Evolution slot, and everything included in the Standard Edition.
Pre-orders: digital now, physical later
You can pre-order digitally on Steam (PC), the PlayStation Store, and the Xbox Store. Physical pre-orders are not open yet as of now, so if you are after a disc, you will have to hold tight.
Pre-order bonuses vary by edition. If you grab the Standard Edition, you get a Football Ultimate Team 92+ OVR Icon (untradeable) for EA Sports FC 25 (sold separately). If you buy the Ultimate Edition by 26 August, you get an Ultimate Team ICON Player Item (untradeable) for FC 26, plus two FC 25 perks: an Ultimate Team Player Evolution and a 1 of 5 Player Pick ICON Player Item (both untradeable, and FC 25 is sold separately).
Why this year actually matters
EA says they have been listening to feedback, and that will need to show. A lot of players sat out FC 25, Rematch is trying to siphon off football fans with its own thing, and Football Manager 26 is just a couple of months away. In other words: it is a big year for FC to win people back.