The beta test for Madden 27 has concluded, which means players will have to wait until the official worldwide release later this year if they want to continue playing. While EA Sports has confirmed the release date for Madden 27, which is Aug. 13, 2026, that’s not technically the next time that you’ll be able to hop back into the latest football title.
It’s become an annual tradition in Madden and other sports games to offer early access to a select group of players. This early access differs from a beta: it allows players to play the full game and keep all their progress during their early time with Madden 27. If you want to be one of the special players who get to participate in early access, you’ll have to follow a couple of key steps, which you can read about in the guide below.
Unlocking Early Access For Madden 27
If you’ve learned about early access in previous Madden games, then you’ll know exactly how it’s going to work in Madden 27, as the process isn’t changing whatsoever. However, if you’ve ignored early access in the past or you’re new to Madden, we’ll go over the process step-by-step.
Early access primarily comes down to pre-ordering a specific edition of Madden 27 or becoming an EA Sports member. Let’s start with pre-ordering the right edition of Madden 27, as that’s how most players will get early access:
- To get standard early access to Madden 27, you need to pre-order the Deluxe Edition of the game, which costs $100.
- This is an extra $30 from the Standard Edition and comes with a variety of other rewards, such as in-game currency, player cards, and more
- Pre-ordering the MVP Bundle offers early access starting on Aug. 10, 2026, meaning you get to play three days early
- You can also purchase the MVP Bundle, which comes with a copy of College Football 27 as well, for $150 to get the early access
However, if you want a full week of early access in Madden 27, you’ll have to become an EA Sports MVP Member. Here’s how that works:
- The EA Sports MVP Membership can be purchased by anybody and offers a full week of early access in Madden 27, starting on Aug. 6, 2026
- The membership costs $149.99 for one year, but a 10% discount is offered to EA Play members or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers
- If you join the membership, you’ll also receive early access to College Football 27, as well as monthly benefits in both games, such as Ultimate Team Packs and Skill Points
Finally, you can technically start playing Madden 27 early if you’re a member of EA Play. However, EA Play members only receive a 10-hour free trial of the game starting on Aug. 6. Once your 10 hours are up, you can then purchase either form of early access to continue playing, wait for the worldwide release, or decide not to purchase Madden 27 at all.
So, to sum up, if you want one week of early access to Madden 27, you need to buy the EA Sports MVP Membership for $150. If you want three days’ early access, you can pre-order the Deluxe Edition for $100 or the MVP Bundle for $150. And if you simply want to trial the game out early before it launches, become a member of EA Play.