Battlefield 6‘s open beta has hit a major milestone, surpassing 520,000 concurrent players on Steam alone. The free test, which launched last week, has generated a lot of hype as players dive into the multiplayer experience ahead of the game’s full release.
The beta gives players access to several maps and game modes, showing off the franchise’s return to its roots after the mixed reception of Battlefield 2042. Players can experience both large-scale vehicular warfare and tighter infantry-focused combat across a variety of environments.
“I haven’t had this much fun with an online FPS since the Golden Era of Battlefield,” shared one enthusiastic player who spent their second day of testing customizing controls and learning map layouts.
One of the most talked-about new features is the map editor, letting players whip up custom scenarios. While somewhat limited in the beta, this tool promises to keep the game fresh with community-made content. The latest version of the Frostbite engine also delivers better environmental destruction, updated visuals, and improved audio design.
Technical performance has been surprisingly solid, with players reporting good framerates even on mid-range systems. “I’ve got a 4070 TiS and a 3700X and I’m getting 80-100 FPS on balanced settings. Which is honestly better than I expected,” noted one player.
Not everything has been smooth sailing, though. Launch day came with massive queues, with some players sitting on waitlists as high as 96,000. Others had to jump through some technical hoops like enabling Secure Boot in BIOS and updating drivers, which wasn’t exactly easy for less tech-savvy gamers.
The beta’s smaller maps have drawn some criticism, with veterans hoping for larger battlegrounds that feel more like classic Battlefield. “I really hope next beta they show off some bigger maps,” commented one player, echoing what a lot of longtime fans are saying.
Industry watchers are keeping a close eye on Battlefield 6‘s performance as EA tries to take on Call of Duty. While previous Battlefield games like BF3 and BF4 sold 17 and 15 million copies respectively, they’ve usually trailed behind CoD‘s consistent 30+ million sales. The huge beta turnout now hints that EA might be narrowing that gap.
