Play Cyberpunk 2077 early with a simple Xbox switch
If you're so extremely excited to play Cyberpunk 2077 that you absolutely cannot wait for midnight, you might be in luck. Supposing you're using an Xbox One, Xbox One X, Xbox One S, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S, you could play the game right this minute. You'll need to change your console's time zone – a relatively simple process if you know where to look.
Cyberpunk 2077 began to launch for some users at the dawn of the day – in Tokyo, New Zealand, and so forth. If you're looking at Manama, Minsk, Moroni, or Baghdad, you're already living in the future. There, as of the point at which this article is set to post, it's already Thursday.
The launch day for Cyberpunk 2077 is the passing of the day from December 9 to December 10. Different platforms have different launch times, and the Xbox is one that activates according to time zone.
Cyberpunk 2077 early on Xbox One and Xbox Series X
Xbox and PlayStation Cyberpunk 2077 launch is midnight, local time. As such, you could head to Settings – System – Language & Location, and change the time zone to a zone that's already reached into the 10th, past midnight. If you change the location to New Zealand, you SHOULD be able to play Cyberpunk 2077.
You'll already need to have pre-loaded the game, of course, and you'll likely run across another update before you get to play. But still – early! Don't forget to turn the time back to your own actual location after you've arrived at midnight for real.
Cyberpunk 2077 early on PS4 / PS5
If you're using a PlayStation to play Cyberpunk 2077, you'll need to wait for your own actual local midnight. Sony's time zone system is a bit more... regulated... than Microsoft's for Xbox. You can still give it a shot if you wish, but it's not worked for the games we've tested in the past on PS4, and the few testers we've seen try it on any PlayStation with Cyberpunk 2077 say it's a no-go!
Cyberpunk 2077 early on PC
If you're on a PC, you'll still need to wait a little bit. The start time for PC players of Cyberpunk 2077 is MIDNIGHT – the point between December 9 and December 10. If you do a quick search in Google for something akin to "what time is it GMT" you'll find the hour re: GMT.
At the point at which this article is set to go live, we'll already be around 2 hours away from launch – so no matter what, you're almost there!