Battlefield 6 open beta breaks Call of Duty's player count record while smashing franchise record
It seems that some FPS (first-person shooter) fans, dissatisfied with Call of Duty, are treating Battlefield 6 as a risky venture.
I can’t remember the last time Battlefield genuinely outshone Call of Duty, but this weekend it happened, and in spectacular fashion. The game’s open beta pulled in 521,079 concurrent players on Steam at its peak, breaking the unified Call of Duty app’s all-time player count record of 491,670 from November 2022.
That peak puts Battlefield 6’s beta in 18th place for the highest concurrent player counts in Steam history, two spots ahead of Call of Duty. For a franchise that’s spent years fighting to reclaim its crown, this feels like a major comeback moment.
The spike shows just how much players are craving an alternative in the FPS (first-person shooter) space, especially at a time when Call of Duty’s reputation is shaky. Call of Duty has received a lot of backlash from gamers, including myself, over the crossover content that has become a staple in the franchise.
While most of these collaborations have been financially successful, the brightly colored, outlandish cosmetic items often detract from the gritty military aesthetic that the game was traditionally known for. Meanwhile, Battlefield appears to be keeping things grounded and sticking to the realistic military theme, which appeals to a lot of gamers.
The numbers tell a bigger story beyond Steam. Battlefield 6 also lit up Twitch with more than 870,000 viewers watching live, over twice the viewership peak of the previous Battlefield game, which topped out around 350,000. In other words, even the people not playing the game are turning up in droves to see what the fuss is about.
Battlefield 6 Open Beta Becomes the Biggest of Any Battlefield Game on Steam
Beyond besting Call of Duty, Battlefield 6's open beta 500k+ concurrent player record becomes the highest the franchise has ever seen on Steam. The franchise's previous record holder, Battlefield 2042 open beta, drew about one-third as many players, peaking at just over 156,000 concurrent users in late 2021.
After release, that game hit a peak of 107,376 players on Steam, roughly 31% below its beta figure. Battlefield V topped out around 116,000, and Battlefield 1, despite its strong reception, reached roughly 50,000.
Hype for the latest Battlefield entry is undeniably strong, but the road hasn’t been without bumps. Some fans showed frustration when EA confirmed bots to be part of the game’s multiplayer. The company later clarified that, in the open beta, bots only appear in a single playlist and can be avoided altogether.
Nonetheless, pulling in that kind of crowd during a test phase suggests that this year’s entry is resonating with both longtime fans and players who may have skipped recent instalments. Battlefield 6 still has time to keep setting series records, as the next round of the open beta begins on August 14 and will run until August 17.
Is the Battlefield Franchise Back?
The boring truth is that it’s too early to call. Plenty of games stumble between their flashy beta and the actual launch. Just look at Battlefield 2042, which pulled in over 150,000 beta players but dropped to just above 100,000 at release.
The difference this time is that Battlefield 6 arrives at a moment when its biggest rival, Call of Duty, is struggling with a bruised reputation. That timing could work heavily in its favour.
The full release of the game lands on October 10. And while it won’t be part of Xbox Game Pass on day one, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and the upcoming Black Ops 7, it at least avoids the dreaded $80 price tag, coming in at $70.
Oluwaseun Bamisile
