Battlefield 6 Beta Breaks Records, Surpassing Call of Duty’s All-Time Steam Peak

Battlefield 6 Beta (Credit: EA)

Battlefield 6’s open beta has become the biggest in the franchise’s history, setting a new benchmark not just for the series, but also for first-person shooters on Steam.

On Saturday evening, the game hit an solid peak of more than 500,000 concurrent players, surpassing Call of Duty’s long-standing record of 491,670 — a milestone set during the height of Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Warzone 2.0’s launch.

This surge placed Battlefield 6 among Steam’s most-played games of the weekend, behind only Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG.

Notably, this also pushed it to the 22nd spot in Steam’s all-time concurrent player rankings.

This peak also outshines other major PC betas, including Monster Hunter Wilds’ February test, which reached 463,798 concurrent players.

Steam charts showing Battlefield 6 Open Beta peak of 521,079. (Credit: SteamDB)

While the Battlefield 6 beta is free-to-play — making it easier for a wide audience to join — the sheer scale of engagement indicates significant interest in the series’ comeback.

EA confirmed on social media that this is officially the series’ biggest open beta, cautioning players about potential queue times due to the overwhelming demand.

The beta, which kicked off with a closed period for selected players before opening to everyone, offers early weekend play sessions leading up to the full release. As per EA’s announcement, all players who signed up for the Labs tests were granted access, explaining the massive turnout.

Even if you missed this weekend’s action, you can still participate in the second weekend (August 14 – August 17) and complete challenges from the first.

What’s adding to the buzz is how Battlefield 6 managed to outshine Call of Duty’s peak numbers on Steam, a feat that’s particularly noteworthy given CoD’s dominance in the FPS space. Activision executives had previously claimed the franchise was “too big to fail,” but Battlefield’s beta success might prompt a rethink.

The final game will be a paid title, so it remains to be seen how many beta players will convert to buyers at launch. However, player retention during the open beta’s first day suggests strong engagement. The upcoming addition of a battle royale mode—rumored to be free-to-play—could further strengthen Battlefield 6’s post-launch presence.

Battlefield 6 launches October 10, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Here all detail.