EA’s recent rollout of the open beta for Battlefield 6 has been nothing short of extraordinary, attracting over 500,000 concurrent players, with a peak reaching 521,079. This marks the highest player count for any Battlefield game to date, signaling a strong community response and excitement around the game. The developers’ focus on enhancing game quality through features such as fragmented downloads and modest hardware requirements appears to be resonating well with players.
Currently, Battlefield 6 ranks 18th in all-time player count for Steam games, a notable achievement considering it’s the only first-person shooter on that list, aside from Counter-Strike and two battle royale titles, PUBG and Apex Legends. This positions Battlefield 6 favorably against competitors; for reference, Call of Duty sits two tiers below at rank 20, with its peak player count recorded nearly three years ago.
Though earlier iterations of the Battlefield franchise did not launch on Steam, making past performance comparisons challenging, the current metrics indicate a significant success that cannot be ignored. Initial queuing times for the beta were notably long, with players reporting waits of up to 30 minutes due to an influx of approximately 250,000 gamers trying to access the game simultaneously. Additionally, many players have noted that the beta offers improved performance compared to the last two finalized releases in the series.
However, an essential question lingers: is Battlefield making a grand comeback? While the early signs are promising, history has shown that initial excitement can sometimes dwindle before a game’s official launch. Battlefield 2042, for instance, attracted over 150,000 players during its beta but saw its numbers drop to just above 100,000 at launch. Nonetheless, the current sentiment around Call of Duty is less favorable following the lackluster reception to the latest Black Ops 7 reveal, possibly giving Battlefield 6 an advantage as players seek alternatives.
The beta will conclude tomorrow, but with a launch date set for October 6, 2025, there is a good possibility that more beta tests or pre-release events will be announced. Players who participate in the final day of the open beta may walk away with a heightened appreciation for the genre, as evident from the overwhelming Twitch viewership numbers that exceeded 870,000—more than double that of the previous Battlefield game.
With the momentum building and positive reception from the community, there is a sense of optimism that Battlefield 6 could redefine the franchise and reinvigorate the FPS landscape as we move closer to its launch.