FIFA 18’s release date is September 29, and you can play three days early if you buy the special Ronaldo Edition of FIFA 18, but there’s a way to play FIFA 18 early without spending $20 more on FUT extras. This will allow you to play FIFA 18 today.
You can play FIFA 18 starting today with EA Access and Origin Access. This is in addition to the FIFA 18 demo, but not a trial or limited edition of the game — it’s the full unlocked version of FIFA 18, and your progress will carry over into the game if you buy the full version. This is the best way to play FIFA 18 early if you want to gain an edge over your opponents as you can start FIFA Ultimate Team and your progress will continue. You can also test new features.
To play FIFA 18 early on Xbox One and PC, you need EA Access or Origin Access. You can’t play FIFA 18 early on PS4 as they don’t support EA Access. You get the game five days early and can play for a total of 10 hours during that time. You can play FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition even after its release date, and this allows you to preload the game even if you buy it on a disc.
EA Access and Origin Access are $4.99 per month or $30 per year and include first game trials as well as full versions of legacy games like FIFA 17, Madden 17, Star Wars: Battlefront, Battlefield 1 and more. You also get 10% off on digital game and game content purchases. Even if you buy FIFA 18 digitally and buy EA Access for a month, you’ll be broke, but there are still enough FIFA 18 deals to save on when paying for EA Access.
Early FIFA 18 Release Date and Time
When you can play FIFA 18 early.
EA has confirmed that FIFA 18’s early release date is September 21, five days before the Ronaldo Edition release date. We don’t know the exact departure time yet, but it’s usually in the afternoon Eastern time.
There’s a chance it could start even earlier. The EA Access Madden 18 release date came a day early, giving users an advantageous six-day start. We will monitor this situation.
How to Download FIFA 18 Trial
You must sign up for EA Access or Origin Access. Once you’ve done that, you can download the EA Access app on your Xbox One or the Origin app on your PC. Open the app and go to the trials section. You should see the FIFA 18 trial here. When it’s time to release, you’ll see an option to download the free trial from the Xbox Store or Origin Store.
Another option is to search Origin or Xbox Store for FIFA 18 and when you see the Free trial, click download to start. Expect a large FIFA 18 download that could be over 30GB, so this will take some time.
No Early FIFA 18 Preload
We don’t see EA Access or Origin Access Play First games getting any custom preload options. Do not expect the FIFA 18 trial to be downloaded as a pre-install before September 21. The only way you can download it sooner is if the trial starts the day before.
The upside is that it will act as a pre-load for the full game when you purchase it or when the FIFA 18 release date arrives.
FIFA 18 Demo Release Date and Details
10-Hour FIFA 18 Trial
This is a 10 hour trial of FIFA 18. If you waste time, you cannot extend or undo it. When you’re done, you should make sure to quit the game completely so that you don’t accidentally leave the game running. The best thing to do is exit the game and then start another game on your Xbox One so you know you’ve quit the game completely.
Full FIFA 18 Game Included
Unlike the FIFA 18 demo, you can play all the modes of FIFA 18 and keep progressing until the full game. This allows you to start in a season or FIFA Ultimate Team. We saw a restriction in Madden 18 that limits users to a small portion of Longshot, so it’s unclear whether EA plans to restrict the FIFA 18 trial in the same way by limiting Journey Season 2.
