There’s strong interest in DICE’s shooter, giving Electronic Arts good reason for optimism this time.

Battlefield 6 has so far been available to players in an early-access, semi-closed beta (technically, anyone could obtain a code through certain channels). It will be publicly playable on August 9–10 and again on August 14–17. Even in this confusing state—neither fully closed nor fully open—hundreds of thousands of players have done what it takes to jump in as early as possible, and with today’s beta launch Battlefield 6 has already surpassed Battlefield 2042’s all-time peak concurrent players on Steam.

We expected solid figures for the Battlefield 6 beta, as servers had already begun filling up. According to SteamDB, Battlefield 2042’s all-time peak on Steam was 107,376, a milestone it reached two years after launch—around 2,000 higher than its launch peak. The Battlefield 6 beta has already hit 334,549 concurrents. Clearly, hundreds of thousands are eager for the new Battlefield, which appears to have a real chance of regaining the attention and popularity the series once enjoyed among shooters.

It’s a strong start for a project into which Electronic Arts has poured significant resources. Four studios are collaborating on different aspects of Battlefield 6 to give both the franchise and EA the best shot at a much-needed comeback. The real test arrives in October, when the game launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (not on Nintendo Switch 2—so much for the publisher taking that platform seriously). We’ll see whether it can not only match but surpass these figures—and sustain them for more than a day.

Let’s see what the two open beta windows deliver.

Source: WCCFTech, SteamDB – Battlefield 2042, SteamDB – Battlefield 6 (beta)