Battlefield 6’s beta has beaten Call of Duty’s all-time Steam player count record

In a massive landmark victory for the Battlefield series, Battlefield 6’s beta has generated so much interest from players that it’s beaten Call of Duty’s all-time player count record on Steam.

This is even more impressive considering that Call of Duty’s more recent titles are all tied to one app on Steam. This peak was achieved at the height of MW2 (2022)’s player count boom and the launch of Warzone 2.0, putting CoD’s record up to 491,670.

But, now that Battlefield 6’s beta is in full swing and has open access for anyone who wants to play, it has beaten CoD’s record handily.

With a peak above 500k players, this makes Battlefield 6 one of Steam’s most played games already and sets it up for success at launch.

Battlefield 6 steals CoD’s crown on Steam

It’s worth mentioning that, because Battlefield 6’s beta is free to play, it makes it very easy to access for a wide audience. The final game won’t be free, and there’s a chance that people who liked the beta won’t be willing to dish the asking price when the game comes out.

Additionally, many Call of Duty players choose to play on battlenet, Game Pass, or console, meaning that the Steam numbers aren’t wholly reflective of how everyone who wants to play Call of Duty would access the game.

However, this huge boost in players makes it clear that there’s a ton of interest in the beta. And, considering that the player count has been on an upward trajectory through its first day of free public access, people who try it out are sticking around.

Battlefield 6’s beta comes at a time where sentiment toward the modern direction of Call of Duty is in question. Even Blizzard’s former president chimed in on the issue, saying that all of these cosmetics combined with other issues with modern CoD set it up to get “stomped” by BF6 this year.

What’s more, CoD’s all time player count record sits at 491k, but it rarely sits above 80k these days. Black Ops 6’s release saw a spike to 315k, but its steadily fallen off in the time since.

Additionally, we already know there’s more to come with a battle royale mode that’s in development, one that may end up being free to play. This could give BF a post-launch edge to keep players engaged.