South of Midnight early access launch times and release date

South of Midnight is the Deep South, stop-motion mythic folktale game from Compulsion Games, and it’s releasing in less than a week on Tuesday, April 8—unless you’ve preordered the premium edition, in which case you can play it in much less than a week when early access unlocks tomorrow on April 3. It’s got a gorgeous look, a rarely-explored setting, and of course, a variety of titanic swamp creatures, as any magic adventure should.

If you’re eager to meet a massive, magical catfish (and who wouldn’t be), you’ll need to know your South of Midnight unlock times. Luckily, you won’t need to weave any magic or commune with any figures from folklore to find out when you can start playing. We’ve got the early access launch times and full release date laid out below.

When is the South of Midnight early access unlock time?

For players who preordered the premium edition, South of Midnight early access unlocks at 12 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 3. It’s a rare daytime launch time for American players, so you won’t have to stay up until the wee hours if you’re in the southern US yourself. That makes for a less kind 1 am launch for any Tokyo players, however.

Here are the full South of Midnight early access unlock times for timezones around the globe:

• Los Angeles: 9 am PDT on Thursday, April 3
• New York: 12 pm EDT on Thursday, April 3
• London: 5 pm BST on Thursday, April 3
• Berlin: 6 pm CEST on Thursday, April 3
• Sydney: 3 am AEDT on Friday, April 4
• Auckland: 5 am NZDT on Friday, April 4

When is the South of Midnight full release date?

For those of us playing the standard version of South of Midnight, we’ll be waiting five more days for access. The full South of Midnight launch time is at 12 pm EDT on April 8. As with the early access times above, anyone in Seoul and eastward will need to stay up late for after-midnight unlock times, but Europe and the Americas can jump in during daylight hours. Or evening hours, at least.

Here are the South of Midnight full launch times for timezones around the world:

• Los Angeles: 9 am PDT on Tuesday, April 8
• New York: 12 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 8
• London: 5 pm BST on Tuesday, April 8
• Berlin: 6 pm CEST on Tuesday, April 8
• Sydney: 3 am AEDT on Wednesday, April 9
• Auckland: 5 am NZDT on Wednesday, April 9

Is there preloading for South of Midnight? Will it be on Game Pass?

South of Midnight will be available on day one for Game Pass subscribers. And yes, both Game Pass subscribers and players who’ve preordered South of Midnight can preload the game, so you won’t have to wait for any downloads before you go Southern Gothic.