Does the New Zealand trick work for Madden 25?

The wait is over, and Madden 25 finally lands this week, commencing the countdown to the start of the new NFL season. Many wonder whether the New Zealand trick will work for the title. We’ve got the answer.

The New Zealand trick has become a popular choice for gamers to work around staggered release windows, which see titles released at different times in various parts of the world. Though predominantly used on Xbox, there are ways to make it work on PlayStation 5, too.

However, for the New Zealand trick to work, a game cannot be released with a global release schedule. That begs the question around Madden 25 on whether you can jump in early—and we’ve explained what we know below.

Will Madden 25 New Zealand trick work?

No, the New Zealand trick will not work with Madden 25 because EA Sports has placed a global release for the title. This means everyone can jump in simultaneously, though the exact timings depend on your time zone.

Early access for Madden 25 begins at 1pm PT/3pm CT/4pm ET/9pm BST on Aug. 12 (6am AEST on Aug. 13). Meanwhile, the standard release is Aug. 15 at 9pm PT 11pm CT/12am ET/5am BST and 5am BST/2pm AEST on Aug. 16. You can see a countdown to both times in our dedicated article.

With players around the world accessing Madden 25 at the same time, there may be some server issues at launch—particularly with online modes like Ultimate Team. As Madden 25 is also a new release, there could be additional bugs and errors.