DICE’s Battlefield 6 blasted onto Steam at launch, peaking at 747,000 concurrent players on day one, according to SteamDB. That haul is the largest for any EA game on Steam and comfortably tops Call of Duty’s all-time Steam record of 491,000 from November 2022. The 747,000 peak also surpasses the previous high for free open betas, which was approximately 521,000. With launch weekend still unfolding, Battlefield 6 could climb even higher as more players find the time to jump in.
Battlefield and Call of Duty have never been identical games. Battlefield 6 leans hard into significant battles, vehicles, and environmental destruction, while Call of Duty keeps the combat tight and its time-to-kill low. Still, in pure Steam numbers, this launch makes a blunt case that Battlefield is back in the conversation for fall shooters. The success arrives as EA prepares to leave the public markets. The company was acquired in a roughly $55 billion deal late last month, a corporate shift that will convince many executives that things are moving in the right direction.
For context, Battlefield 6’s result is impressive, although it doesn’t represent the year’s top concurrent peak. Monster Hunter Wilds hit about 1.38 million at launch, one of Steam’s biggest ever openings. Battlefield’s peak puts it among the bigger launches of 2025 and gives EA a serious headline this week. Whether 747,000 marks the overall high or if another record is set over the weekend remains to be seen. Either way, Battlefield 6’s Steam launch is a clear win for DICE and a reminder that big, noisy shooters still have an audience on PC.
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