NHL 24 Early Access – Start time and how to play the game early

Looking to find out when NHL 24 early access begins? You have come to the right place as we begin the countdown towards EA Sports’ latest NHL offering.

Fronted by cover athlete Cale Makar, this year’s game is packed with new features include a brand-new exhaust engine and physics-based contact system to take big moments in your hockey experience to the next level.

We are now just days away from the full EA Sports NHL 24 release date. It’s not long now until we can get stuck into our favourite game modes with changes coming in HUT, World of Chel, and Franchise mode.

Find out when the NHL 24 early access period begins and how to access it below.

NHL 24 early access start time countdown

Players are scheduled to be able to get in NHL 24 early access from 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST on October 3.

You can secure your own NHL 24 early access by purchasing the NHL 24 X-Factor Edition of the game through pre-orders.

This version of the game also comes with pre-order content like NHL Points, WOC Battle Pass XP modifiers, and Dual Entitlement. For more information, check out our NHL 24 Pre-Order guide.

NHL 24 early access release date

NHL 24 early access will be available from Tuesday, October 3. The full launch of the game follows three days later on the Friday.

Each release for the last three NHL video games, came an early access period – and each time it was three days prior to the official release date.

Pre-orders are available for Xbox consoles Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation consoles, PS4 and PS5, and PC fans.

NHL 24 EA Play

EA Play members can also access the game early. Subscribers will have 10-hours of access to the game starting in the 3-days early access period from October 3.

This gives players the chance to try out the new gameplay and see the latest updates to the franchise. Members will also receive 10% off pre-orders for the game, as well as 10% off the purchase of NHL Points.