Battlefield 6 has stormed onto Steam with a blockbuster debut, drawing nearly 750,000 players and becoming EA’s most successful shooter launch to date.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- Battlefield 6 hit a peak of 747,440 players on Steam, making it the biggest launch in the franchise’s history
- The game surpassed Call of Duty’s top PC numbers and ranks 14th in all-time peak players on Steam
- Despite minor hiccups, EA’s quick fixes and generous player compensation earned praise
- Steam reviews are overwhelmingly positive, a rare feat for major shooter launches
What Happened?
Battlefield 6 launched to a roaring start, drawing in massive crowds on Steam and breaking its own beta records. Within 24 hours, the game reached 747,440 concurrent players, making it not only the most-played Battlefield ever but also placing it just behind Counter-Strike 2 in Steam’s active charts.
What makes this more remarkable is that players are actually happy. In contrast to previous rocky releases in the franchise, this time EA seems to have hit the right notes.
A New Benchmark for EA Shooters
Battlefield 6 has crushed previous records for the series. Its launch beat the beta’s 521,079 peak, and even outpaced any Call of Duty title on PC. The game now ranks as the 14th most played game in Steam history. This makes it EA’s most successful shooter debut on the platform.
- SteamDB reported a peak of 747,440 concurrent players.
- That number eclipses all prior Battlefield entries.
- The game also holds the number one spot in Steam’s top sellers.
- Analysts estimate over $100 million in pre-launch sales.
Strong Sales and Staying Power
Battlefield 6 isn’t just a hit on launch day. A few days in, it still holds over 227,000 active players, comfortably remaining in Steam’s top five most played games. Even before release, the game spent ten straight weeks in Steam’s top 100 sellers, building major momentum ahead of its debut.
The ongoing interest is a strong sign that the player base is sticking around, especially given the franchise’s history of post-launch drop-offs.
Smoother Than Expected for a Battlefield Launch
Compared to previous titles, the launch of Battlefield 6 has been surprisingly stable. A few Steam users ran into a “Game Not Released” error, which was quickly resolved by EA with a workaround. The bigger issue was on the EA App, where some pre-order players couldn’t access the game due to a short outage.
To their credit, EA’s response was immediate and generous:
- Players affected by the EA App outage received 12 60-minute XP tokens for both player and hardware progression.
- They also received a free battle pass – season one for standard edition owners, and season two for Phantom Edition users.
These gestures went a long way in shifting the narrative, earning EA rare community praise.
Players Are Actually Happy This Time
Possibly the most shocking part of Battlefield 6’s launch is the positive player sentiment. On Steam, the game has earned a “Very Positive” rating, with over 29,563 reviews.
- 82% of English reviews are favorable.
- Players are praising its engaging multiplayer, stable performance, and the return to classic Battlefield chaos.
This stands in stark contrast to recent launches like Borderlands 4, which opened to mixed reviews and fan disappointment.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
Honestly, I didn’t expect Battlefield 6 to land this well. After the missteps with past titles, I was bracing for another buggy, apology-filled rollout. But EA actually pulled it off this time. The player count is insane, the community feels alive again, and even the Steam reviews are glowing. This might be the comeback Battlefield fans have been waiting for. If EA keeps this momentum going, they might just fully reclaim their spot in the shooter hall of fame.
