EA SPORTS FC 27 Early Access Is Live Today for Ultimate Edition Owners, Season 1 Ones to Watch Runs to October 22, and Everyone Else Plays September 25

If you paid for the Ultimate or Ultimate Plus Edition of EA SPORTS FC 27, your week starts now. Early access opened on PC at 23:00 UTC last night and on every other platform at midnight local time today, September 18. That gives edition buyers seven days on the pitch before the worldwide launch on September 25, and EA's launch update makes clear those days are not a preview. Season 1 is already running, Team of the Week is live, and the first Grounds Club Tournament has started.

We have followed this game since Kylian Mbappe landed on the cover in July and since EA laid out its Ultimate Team overhaul in August. Today is the first time any of that can be tested with a controller in hand.

Video: Xbox on YouTube

Who gets in today, and who waits a week

Three groups are in. Ultimate and Ultimate Plus Edition owners have the full game right now. EA Play Pro subscribers have it too, unlocked at the same 23:00 UTC moment as PC early access. Standard EA Play members get a 10 hour trial that started on September 18 at 04:00 UTC, enough to judge this year's gameplay changes before spending anything.

Everyone else plays on September 24 at 23:00 UTC on PC, or September 25 at 00:00 local time on console. If you are on the fence, FC 27 Lite lands on September 25 at 16:00 UTC. It is a free download with select modes such as Kick-Off, available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, the EA app, Steam and the Epic Games Store, and you can upgrade to the full game from inside it. Standard and Ultimate Editions are sold on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, the EA app, Steam and Epic. EA has not published prices in the launch update or the editions FAQ, so check your own store. The caveat that matters most is platform related: The Grounds, the new home of Clubs, only exists on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch 2. Last generation consoles and the original Switch get the rest of the game without it.

What is actually live during early access

Season 1 is called Ones to Watch and runs from Thursday, September 17 through Thursday, October 22. From today, Ultimate Team players get Team of the Week 1 and 2, Ones to Watch themed SBCs, Challenge and Upgrade SBCs, Evolutions, Squad Foundations and Season Point earning. Ones to Watch items keep their base attributes at 83 or higher and get boosted to 83 if they are lower, every one has at least 60 Pace, and they gain +1 overall for each Team of the Week, Star Performer or Player of the Month inclusion. There is also a one time +1 if the player's club wins three of its next six league matches after September 18.

The second campaign, Destined for Glory, arrives on September 25 around players the community voted for. Mbappe leads it with the most votes, joined by Morgan Rogers, Matheus Fernandes, Alexander Isak and Bryan Mbeumo, and those items earn upgrades all season from real league performances. EA also confirms it is capping PlayStyles+ at three instead of five and shrinking attribute jumps between campaigns, the calmer power curve from August put into practice. The Grounds opens with a Classic Stadium 11v11 Club Tournament that runs through early access into launch, plus European Nights, which keeps the world at dusk for Champions League matchdays. Career Mode gets Manager Live back with fresh challenges and a Season 1 batch of ICONs.

Our take

A paid week of early access is not new, and the interesting part of this launch is what it does to the FUT economy rather than who plays first. EA has now committed, in writing, to slower upgrades and items that stay useful longer, and early access is where that promise meets reality. If the power curve really is gentler by October 22, this was a good week to be in early. If not, waiting for September 25, or for the free Lite build, costs you nothing but a few days.