Battlefield 6 Beta Breaks Call of Duty Player Record on Steam
▼ Summary
– Battlefield 6’s open beta peaked at 521,079 concurrent players on Steam, surpassing Call of Duty: Warzone’s all-time peak of 491,670.
– A second open beta is scheduled for August 14-17, with an exclusive PS5 skin available for those who purchase the full game later.
– Battlefield 6 faces strong competition from Call of Duty, which will launch day-one on Xbox Game Pass, giving it a sales advantage.
– Players praised the beta for its realistic warfare, diverse game modes, and destruction physics reminiscent of Bad Company 2.
– Cheaters have bypassed EA’s anti-cheat on PC, and enabling the software has caused issues for some players.
Weekends often see gaming servers packed to capacity, and the recent Battlefield 6 open beta was no different. Once the beta became freely accessible, player counts skyrocketed, hitting an astounding peak of 521,079 concurrent users on Steam, a figure that easily eclipsed Call of Duty’s all-time Steam record. For those eager to jump in, a second beta phase runs from August 14-17, with PlayStation 5 players getting an exclusive cosmetic reward for pre-ordering the full game.
The numbers speak volumes. Call of Duty HQ, which bundles Warzone and Black Ops 6, managed just 67,595 concurrent players on Steam during the same period. Even more impressive, Battlefield 6 surpassed the previous peak of 491,670 set by Call of Duty’s free-to-play offerings. While console stats remain under wraps, the surge in downloads suggests massive interest across all platforms.
Despite the early success, questions linger about whether this momentum will translate into strong sales. Battlefield 6 faces stiff competition from Call of Duty, which traditionally dominates year-end sales charts. Activision’s latest entry also benefits from a day-one Xbox Game Pass launch, giving it a significant edge in accessibility.
Feedback from the beta has been largely positive, with players applauding the realistic combat mechanics, diverse multiplayer modes, and destruction physics reminiscent of fan-favorite Bad Company 2. However, the experience hasn’t been flawless. Cheaters have already infiltrated PC servers, bypassing EA’s anti-cheat measures, while technical hiccups have frustrated some users trying to enable security features.
For those gearing up for the next beta weekend, guides are available covering everything from optimizing controller settings to understanding how AI bots function in-game. Whether Battlefield 6 can maintain this explosive start remains to be seen, but for now, it’s clearly making waves.
(Source: GameSpot)
