Battlefield 6 is shaping up to be EA’s most promising Battlefield launch in years, with its open beta smashing expectations. 
In just its second week, the beta surged past 400,000 concurrent Steam players, and according to Rhys Elliot of Alinea Analytics, pre-orders have already crossed 605,000 on Steam alone. Elliot now predicts the game could break the 1 million pre-order mark before launch, potentially generating over $35 million in pre-sale revenue.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Elliot noted that the challenge for EA will be maintaining this momentum into October’s launch, especially with big competitors like Borderlands 4 dropping around the same time. While he believes this could be “the best Battlefield has ever done,” he dismisses EA’s lofty goal of reaching 100 million players as “completely unrealistic.” He also doesn’t buy into the “CoD Killer” narrative, despite Call of Duty’s current creative slump. As he puts it, CoD remains a cultural juggernaut with an entrenched casual fanbase and a powerful yearly content cycle.
Fans and critics alike are split. Many are impressed by the beta’s stability, massive maps, and return to classic Battlefield elements like core classes and large-scale destruction. Others complain about smaller maps, low time-to-kill, performance dips, and design changes aimed at drawing in Call of Duty fans. Still, compared to recent rocky launches in the FPS space, Battlefield 6 is already being praised for feeling “ship-ready” months ahead of release.
With over 75 million PS5s in circulation and a player base hungry for a solid shooter, this October could see one of the franchise’s biggest launches yet. Whether Battlefield 6 can maintain its momentum and carve out space alongside CoD’s dominance remains the real test.