EA and DICE’s Battlefield 6 has officially rewritten the franchise record books. Just halfway into its Open Beta, the game peaked at a staggering 473,632 concurrent players on Steam — more than tripling the previous record set by Battlefield 2042 in 2021.
The milestone was reached before the beta’s “truly open” phase even began. On August 7, EA launched the early access period, available to Battlefield Labs registrants, EA Play Pro subscribers, and Twitch Drop recipients. This closed testing stage ran for just 48 hours before the free-for-all phase began, planned to last three days.
Breaking Down the Numbers
According to SteamDB, Battlefield 6 not only crushed series records but also secured a spot as the fourth most-played game on Steam at its peak, trailing only Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds.
The concurrent player count suggests that well over 1 million — and possibly closer to 2 million — people have joined the beta via Steam alone. EA also revealed that more than 330,000 cheating attempts were blocked during the early access period, underscoring both the beta’s popularity and the developer’s proactive anti-cheat measures.
Compared to Previous Battlefield Records
The series’ prior beta record holder, Battlefield 2042, reached 156,665 concurrent players in 2021. That means Battlefield 6’s peak is over 3x higher. For reference, Battlefield 2042’s launch peak was about 31% lower than its beta peak, at 107,376 concurrent players. If this trend holds, Battlefield 6 could debut this fall with over 300,000 concurrent players on Steam.
What’s Driving the Massive Turnout?
Several factors seem to be fueling this surge:
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Next-Gen Scale – 128-player matches on sprawling, destructible maps.
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Dynamic Events – Real-time weather changes and environmental hazards.
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Accessibility – Early access incentives and open beta availability.
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Franchise Reputation – Battlefield’s comeback narrative after 2042.
With the beta’s momentum showing no signs of slowing, Battlefield 6 could be heading toward one of the biggest launches in franchise — and possibly FPS — history.