Update: Battlefield 6 is officially EA's biggest Steam launch ever. With 704,005 concurrent players online at the time of writing according to SteamDB, the latest Battlefield game has comfortably surpassed Apex Legends' prior record of 624,473.
Original story:
Battlefield 6 is here, and as players run headlong into queues topping 500,000 players, the budding FPS has already smashed player count records for the franchise.
At the time of writing, SteamDB shows that Battlefield 6 has surpassed 606,335 concurrent players on Steam alone. For context, when I refreshed this data approximately 20 minutes ago, that number was sitting around 347,000.
Let's put that figure into context. On Steam, the Battlefield series previously had two neck-and-neck contenders for all-time concurrent player peak. Battlefield 5 managed 116,104, while Battlefield 2042 hit 107,376. Within minutes, Battlefield 6 has more than quadrupled both of these records, and it's just getting started.
The all-time Steam record for publisher EA comes from Apex Legends, which hit 624,473. At its current pace, Battlefield 6 may eclipse that within the hour, and we still haven't hit the weekend wave yet.
The catch here is that a significant chunk of those Battlefield 6 Steam players probably aren't actually playing the game just yet, even if they do have it open on their PC. Many players faced lengthy unpacking times when launch time came, and then they had to navigate the dreaded queue. The good news is that, from what I've seen online and heard from our own Battlefield heads, the queue is moving fast, even if it can appear daunting.
Our Battlefield 6 game server issues and error codes guide will help you stay on top of any potential disruptions as launch day stabilizes. You can also follow our Battlefield 6 release live coverage for all the latest developments and patch details.
Battlefield 6 review: "More refined than innovative, this FPS is on target with multiplayer even if its campaign is just a big shrug"
