Rise of the Ronin – can you do the New Zealand trick to play early?

When new games come out, people want to play them as early as possible, even before the release date. This is why you might want to know about Rise of the Ronin and the New Zealand trick.

This trick involves changing your time zone to match New Zealand, but it doesn’t work with every game. Your platform also changes the method slightly. We’re certainly excited about Rise of the Ronin, and our preview piece will attest to that.

With one more week to go until the release date – and no early access in sight – let’s see whether the New Zealand trick works with Rise of the Ronin.

Rise of the Ronin New Zealand trick explained

Technically, you can exploit the New Zealand trick to play Rise of the Ronin early. Put simply, the New Zealand trick can be used if a game has a worldwide midnight release, and it generally involves changing your timezone to New Zealand.

Since Rise of the Ronin is a PlayStation 5 exclusive, you will have to take extra steps than simply changing your region. Here’s how to perform the New Zealand trick for Rise of the Ronin:

• First, you must create a brand new PSN account and set the region to New Zealand.
• After you do this, you will have to buy the game on your New Zealand PSN account from the NZ storefront.
• Once you’ve done this, and the release date rolls around – you can play Rise of the Ronin 13 hours early in the UK on March 21. This also works if you live in the US.

Rise of the Ronin is set to be released worldwide at midnight on March 22. In the UK, that means it will be released 13 hours before its official launch thanks to the regional time difference. This means you can essentially buy and play the game before it’s official release in your region.

That’s it for the Rise of the Ronin New Zealand trick. For more, read our guides covering difficulty options and how to preload the game.

About the Author

Jack Webb

Jack Webb is a guides writer for VideoGamer.