Battlefield 6 just had one hell of an opening weekend. The new game from EA’s superteam Battlefield Studios (made up of developers DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive, and Criterion) smashed franchise records in its first open beta weekend, a sign that the series is poised to make a big comeback when it releases later this fall. But while Battlefield’s resurgence is great for fans who’ve been clamoring for a proper Battlefield game for nine years, it's even better for fans of Battlefield’s biggest competitor, Call of Duty.
To paint a picture of its success, Battlefield 6’s open beta pulled in 521,079 concurrent players on Steam alone. It was the biggest concurrent player count ever for a Battlefield game on Steam. This figure represents only a fraction of those who played over the weekend, as the beta was also playable through EA’s PC client, the Epic Games Store, and of course, both PlayStation and Xbox.
Perhaps more surprising is that this launch was bigger than every Call of Duty game to launch on the platform. Of course, there are some caveats. Call of Duty only came back to Steam in 2022, meaning the service missed some peak years for the franchise in the 2010s. The Battlefield 6 beta is also free to play, a much lower barrier to entry compared to the standard $60 to $70 price tag of Call of Duty. But it’s still a solid indicator of where PC players’ interest lies going into the fall, coming off the divisive Black Ops 6. After all, it's not a coincidence that the best-selling preorder on Steam drew so many curious players.
Not many things are bigger than Call of Duty. In any given year, Activision’s first-person shooter is typically the biggest release of the year, often outgrossing even the biggest Hollywood productions. So for Battlefield, a series that has tried again and again to capture the Call of Duty faithful over the decades, to finally surge ahead in any capacity is noteworthy. But as someone who got early hands-on time with the game, I can’t say I’m too surprised.
Battlefield 6’s timing is impeccable. Enough time has passed for the general negativity surrounding Battlefield 2042 to subside. And returning with a no-frills team-based shooter that nails what the series is known for was the right move. While I don’t encourage players to ignore objectives and focus on team eliminations (don’t be that person!), I understand getting caught up in the mechanics of movement and shooting when it feels this darn good to control.
All the while, Call of Duty has done more to upset its fans than keep them satiated. While I believe Black Ops 6’s Omnimovement mechanics added the most interesting wrinkle to the formula in years, I’m in the minority. Speaking to fellow journalists and streamers deep in the Call of Duty trenches, not a single person was as high on omni-movement as I was. They argued that Call of Duty’s firefights are too sporadic and chaotic. To go from a game where everyone moves like a star in a John Woo flick to one where you’re playing as a grounded soldier seemed to be a refreshing change of pace for these players.
Then there’s the overall brand of Call of Duty. The seasonal crossover skins have reached a point of no return for certain players. It was one thing for characters in Squid Game jumpsuits to appear. It’s another for Beavis and Butthead to turn up alongside Seth Rogen. These jarring additions have made Black Ops 6 one of the ugliest games of 2025.
Wisely, Battlefield design director Shashank Uchil told DBLTAP that Battlefield won’t venture into those divisive waters. “I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj,” he told the publication. “Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.”
Finally, I think the depth that Battlefield has always offered is something many fans are ready for. Teamwork in Call of Duty is nice, but never necessary. And while I’ve had my fair share of Battlefield 6 matches where players outright ignore the duties of their chosen role, that happened less and less as I played more. There’s nothing at all wrong with Call of Duty’s more individualistic, elimination-focused approach to multiplayer, as it’s still fun all these years later. But a genre alternative that emphasizes everything the competition doesn’t is inherently intriguing.
There’s something rad about being in the top five of a match when you spend most of your time being an effective medic or long-range spotter. Combined with impressive destruction mechanics, Battlefield 6 leaves a lasting impression. And while none of this is new to Battlefield as a series, it’s a much-needed breath of fresh air for newcomers burnt out on the Call of Duty formula.
But what does all of this mean for Call of Duty? Well, as dire as this may all seem, I think such a worthy competitor means a golden era for Call of Duty could be on the horizon. For years now, no one has come close to knocking the series off its pedestal. And in that time, the series seems to have lost touch with what its fans want out of the series. Omnimovement aside, there’s been a lack of big, series-changing innovations. Being the only kid on the block breeds complacency. Fans have been vocal about this for years online. But actual competition would go much further in pushing the series forward than a strongly worded Reddit thread or tweets. And while Black Ops 6 is anything but a bad game, there’s no denying that there’s little fanfare going into the next game in the series compared to the proven hype of Battlefield 6.
Black Ops 7 will surely rake in millions for Activision and Xbox. It’s too big a juggernaut to see a massive drop-off in a single year. But the scales have been tipped for the first time in a long time. And I don’t think Activision should be as nonchalant about the groundswell around its competition as it's reportedly being. History has shown that the words “Too big to fail” can precede some of the biggest downturns of all time.
“Actual competition would go much further in pushing the series forward than a strongly worded Reddit thread or tweets.”
Battlefield has always thrived when it tries to distinguish itself from other shooters and doubles down on what makes the series so distinct. Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4 were series favorites because they made good on the fantasy of the original games with a fresh coat of paint. Battlefield 1 was a series high because it delivered an old-school shooter experience when Call of Duty was all-in on science fiction. Meanwhile, games like Battlefield 2042 squandered fan interest by chasing hero shooter trends and bloated features nobody asked for.
As rough as it's been to be a Battlefield fan over the last nine years, EA and company couldn’t have picked a better time to make good on what the people wanted. And while that’s paying off in dividends for courting hopeful fans, it’s also a declarative shot reminding its biggest competitor that the crown for most popular first-person shooter can always be disputed.
