Armored Core 6 countdown: Exact start time and date

Very few people could have predicted that FromSoftware’s next move after the industry-defining hit that was Elden Ring would be reviving its far more obscure Armored Core series after more than a decade of dormancy, but here we are. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon looms on the horizon, and players will soon trade in their longswords for railguns—but when exactly can fans expect the game to release?

The simple answer is that AC6 releases on Aug. 25, as per the developer and major storefronts, but as is all too common in the modern gaming industry, there are a few asterisks attached if you want to get behind the controls of your very own giant mech as soon as possible.

Given how hyped players are for the return of one of the most consistently high-quality studios out there, it’s certainly understandable that you’d want to start playing at your very first opportunity.

What time does Armored Core 6 release?

If you’re playing on a console, the AC6 launch is staggered, meaning that the game will become available to play at midnight for the region you’re in. Xbox players get a slight boost here, as they’re able to “bend the truth” about their region and play the game early simply by changing a few settings around. (Pro tip: New Zealand is the best time zone to use for this trick.) In addition, the Xbox preload is already open, while PlayStation players have to wait until Aug. 23—a little odd, given that it has historically been From’s favored platform, but who are we to question Hidetaka Miyazaki’s ways?

Luckily, if you’re on PC, it’s far more straightforward: AC6 releases when it releases, and that’s the end of it, presumably at midnight too (although no official time zone has yet been announced).

The countdown below tells you exactly how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds you have to wait until Armored Core 6 releases in some of the major time zones:

What time does Armored Core 6 release in the U.K? (BST)

What time does Armored Core 6 release in the U.S? (PT/ET/CT)

PT

ET

CT

How big is Armored Core 6?

Before you rush off to preorder it, you may want to double-check that you can run what’s doubtlessly going to be a fairly beefy game—as well as clear a little space out. AC6’s file size weighs in at about 35 gigabytes on last-generation consoles, 50 gigabytes on current-generation consoles, and 65 gigabytes on PC, and while mercifully not as huge as the likes of Call of Duty, it may still necessitate some planning depending on how stuffed your hard drive is.

No matter which platform you play on, the release of Armored Core 6 is imminent, so don’t worry all that much about it—you’ll be sealed into your corporate-issued mech and unleashed on your fellow pilots soon enough.