Armored Core 6: How to play AC6 early—New Zealand trick, explained

Armored Core 6’s impending release has mech enjoyers on the edge of their seats, thanks to FromSoftware’s excellent track record with the popular franchise. With all the fast-paced mecha battles and customizable robot parts coming our way, you’re definitely not the only one looking for ways to play this highly anticipated game early. 

Luckily for fans who cannot wait, it’s possible to play Armored Core 6 almost half a day earlier than the regional release window, but only if you plan to play it on a console. PC users cannot avail of this unofficial benefit. 

The process of unlocking the game early is rather easy for Xbox owners, but for PlayStation users, you’ll need to perform a few additional steps. 

When will Armored Core 6 release? 

Like it’s for most games with different regional release times, Armored Core 6 can be played early with a workaround we like to call “the New Zealand trick.” The trick requires you to set your console account’s region to New Zealand and then pre-order Armored Core 6.

Before we delve into the process, it’s important to know the exact release times according to the platform. This will help you decide whether it’s worth the extra work to play the game early.

For PC users, Armored Core 6 will launch on Aug. 24 at 10pm UTC, which converts to 3pm PT, 12am CEST (Aug. 25), and 10am NZST (Aug. 25). It’s at the same time for all regions, so the New Zealand trick is useless in this case. 

Xbox and PlayStation users, on the other hand, will be able to play the game starting Aug. 25 at midnight, depending on their region. 

How to unlock and play Armored Core 6 early?

Switching your region to New Zealand should technically let you unlock Armored Core 6 at 12am NZST. For reference, that’s 18 hours earlier than 12am CT and 10 hours earlier than 12am CEST. 

Changing your Xbox account’s region is pretty straightforward. Open up the guide by pressing the Xbox button and go to Profile & system > Settings > System > Language & location. Set the location to New Zealand and restart your console. Note that Xbox allows changing of location only once in three months.

Once your Xbox account is set to a new region, you can go ahead and purchase Armored Core 6, and you should be able to access it according to New Zealand’s time.

Related: Is Armored Core 6 on Xbox Game Pass?

PlayStation users, on the other hand, will have to create a new account. Sony doesn’t allow you to change your location after you’ve created your account. For this reason, you may want to think twice before going ahead with this workaround. The copy of Armored Core 6 you purchase will be locked to the new account, so you won’t be able to transfer it to your main account either.

If you decide to go for it anyway, create a new PlayStation account and make sure to set the location to New Zealand. Once done, you can purchase Armored Core 6 to unlock it according to New Zealand’s clock.