Skull and Bones early access release time: when you can start playing ASAP

Here’s when Skull and Bones early access launches in your time zone

Author:
Stoyan Ovcharov
Publish date:
Feb 12, 2024 5:37 AM EST

Skull and Bones is just around the corner, as it’s launching into early access on February 13, 2024, for players who own the game’s Premium Edition. Following S&B’s open beta weekend, which wrapped up last night, Ubisoft won’t be keeping the servers offline for long.

Here's the exact Skull and Bones early access release time for your time zone and preferred platform, so you can start playing as early as possible.

Three Skull and Bones sailors look out over the horizon from the prow of their ship

Skull and Bones early access release time

Players who have purchased the Skull and Bones Premium Edition on any platform, or are subscribers to the more expensive Ubisoft+ Premium plan on PC, will get up to three days of early access to the full game.

Skull and Bones is releasing into early access for PC via Ubisoft Connect and the Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on February 13 at 12 a.m. (midnight) in your local time zone. The early access launch time is the same on all platforms.

Skull and Bones early access release time, preload and launch times — Ubisoft has revealed the early access and launch times for Skull and Bones
Ubisoft

Skull and Bones early access preload

You can preload Skull and Bones ahead of its early access launch time, so you’re ready to join the action as soon as the servers go online.

Preloads for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S started on February 11 at 12 a.m. (midnight) local time, while PC preloads began at midnight today, February 12.

New Zealand trick to play Skull and Bones early

As Skull and Bones’ early access has a “local time” launch, some players should be able to pull off the so-called New Zealand trick to play earlier. The trick involves changing your console’s region and time zone to New Zealand, as it’s the country where the game will unlock first.

New Zealand trick on Xbox Series X|S

On Xbox Series X|S, go to Settings > System > Time, switch your time zone to UTC+12 Auckland, Wellington, and restart your console. The game should unlock at midnight New Zealand time.

New Zealand trick on PS5

Performing the New Zealand trick on PS5 is more complicated, as you will need to create a separate PlayStation account on your console and pre-order the game through that rather than your main account. Go through the normal account setup process, using a different email address, and make sure you select “New Zealand” when asked to pick a region.

Now you know everything to start playing Skull and Bones as soon as possible. If you're still on the fence about buying the game, check out our Skull and Bones FAQ.