Dragon Age: The Veilguard unlock times

Dragon Age character Varric looking confidently forward with allies behind him — (Image credit: Tyler C. / BioWare)

We're just a day away from the Halloween release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. If you're eager to return to Thedas, you'll want to mark down the Veilguard unlock times so you can know the precise moment you're free to jump into defending the fragile metaphysical barrier preventing the most profoundly bald elf in existence from flooding the world with demons.

Wherever you are in the world, we've tallied The Veilguard's release time for various timezones below. A new BioWare RPG is a big moment, after all. We don't want to leave anyone out.

Is there preloading for Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Unfortunately, there is no preloading for Dragon Age: The Veilguard on PC. Notably, Veilguard won't feature any third party DRM software—a refreshing departure from EA's typical Denuvo implementation, but one that means no early installs in an attempt at avoiding piracy.

Console players are a bit more lucky, though. Xbox Series X/S players have been able to lock in their downloads for a couple weeks now. PlayStation players had to wait a little longer, but have been able to preload Veilguard as of October 29.

A map showing the Dragon Age: The Veilguard launch time in various timezones. — (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

When does Dragon Age: The Veilguard launch?

On PC, Dragon Age: The Veilguard will release at 9 am PDT / 4pm GMT on October 31, 2024. Technically, that'll put the release on November 1 if you're far enough east, but that's the price you pay for living slightly in the future.

Here's the Dragon Age: The Veilguard release time in various timezones around the globe:

9 am PDT, October 31 (Los Angeles)
12 pm EDT (New York)
4 pm GMT (London)
3 am, November 1 AEDT (Sydney)
5 am, November 1 NZDT (Auckland)

At that time, you'll be able to start your Veilguard downloads on Steam, the Epic Store, or—my sympathies to any thus affected—the EA app. As mentioned above, there aren't any preloads for Veilguard on PC, so it'll be another short wait before you're let loose on the character creator. The install size for The Veilguard on Steam is 89GB.

Is there early access for Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Nope! No matter what edition of Dragon Age: The Veilguard you buy, everyone will start playing at the same time. Where other games—EA releases included—have started letting players get a few days of early access if they shell out for a deluxe edition, The Veilguard is bucking the trend. No early Rook arrivals here.

That's not to say there isn't a more expensive version of The Veilguard available if you're eager to spend more money on Dragon Age. The deluxe edition includes an exclusive cosmetic armor set for Rook and each of their companions, as well as accompanying weapon cosmetics. Bit of a thin offering for the additional $20 it'll cost you, if you ask me, but the option's there.

Good news if you've pre-ordered, though: You'll get access to the lovably goofy Blood Dragon cosmetic armor, inspired by the armor set that was included with new copies of Dragon Age: Origins and eventually bled out into Mass Effect. 2009 was a simpler time.

Lincoln has been writing about games for 12 years—unless you include the essays about procedural storytelling in Dwarf Fortress he convinced his college professors to accept. Leveraging the brainworms from a youth spent in World of Warcraft to write for sites like Waypoint, Polygon, and Fanbyte, Lincoln spent three years freelancing for PC Gamer before joining on as a full-time News Writer in 2024, bringing an expertise in Caves of Qud bird diplomacy, getting sons killed in Crusader Kings, and hitting dinosaurs with hammers in Monster Hunter.