Forspoken release time and preload times: When can you play Forspoken?

What time does Forspoken release? Forspoken launches on January 24th as the new action-RPG from the makers of Final Fantasy 15, and as you might expect, that comes with a mixed bunch of expectations and concerns going in. I personally am quite fond of the adventures of Noctis and pals, but admit that Forspoken's self-consciously quippy dialogue and baffling system requirements had me feeling a little ambivalent.

Having played the PS5 demo, though, I think this game's got potential, but I'm keen to get my hands on the full release on PC before I make up my mind. And I'm sure many of our readers are too! Read on below for a full run-down of preload and unlock times for Forspoken, so that you can begin your journey through the land of Athia as soon as you possibly can.

Forspoken release times

Forspoken will have a simultaneous global release, meaning that the release time for you will vary depending on where in the world you are. The game will unlock at the following times:

• West Coast US: 8am PST on Tuesday, January 24th
• East Coast US: 11am EST on Tuesday, January 24th
• UK: 4pm GMT on Tuesday, January 24th
• Central Europe: 5pm CET on Tuesday, January 24th

This means that if you live in, say, Australia or New Zealand — or indeed, in Japan, where the game was developed — Forspoken actually launches the following day: Wednesday, January 25th, in the very early hours of the morning (1am JST, for reference).

Forspoken preload times

Good news: if you have pre-ordered Forspoken digitally — whether on Steam or Epic Games Store for PC, or on PlayStation 5 — you can begin preloading the game right now. Preloads began on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at midnight local time in all regions.

If you just can't get enough of this fantasy stuff from Square Enix, be sure to check out our page detailing everything we know about the upcoming Final Fantasy 16.