Highlights
- Battlefield 2042 is experiencing a resurgence with its highest peak player count on Steam thanks to the launch of Season 6: Dark Creations, a big sale, and a free-to-play period.
- Despite a rocky start, EA and DICE have introduced updates and post-launch content to improve Battlefield 2042, including Season 6 which offers new rewards, maps, weapons, and gadgets.
- The game's player count has skyrocketed after the launch of Season 6, with the game being one of Steam's top-selling games, although some fans still criticize it for lacking optimization and missing features.
Battlefield 2042 is experiencing a resurgence, reaching its highest peak player count on Steam since the launch of the game in November 2021. Various factors have led to the major player increase for Battlefield 2042, including the recent launch of Season 6: Dark Creations.
Although Battlefield 2042's launch was under heavy scrutiny, EA and DICE have introduced multiple seasons and updates with post-launch content. These updates would bring numerous quality-of-life improvements, gameplay adjustments, and game modes as well. Battlefield 2042 Season 6: Dark Creations appears to be one of the game's most promising seasons yet with 100 tiers of Battle Pass rewards, the "claustrophobic" Redacted map, new weapons and gadgets, and so much more. Season 6's launch came just one month prior to the game's two-year anniversary, and Battlefield 2042 is experiencing its most notable player increase during the season's first weekend.
EA's Battlefield Franchise Could Be Bringing Back a Fan-Favorite Game Mode
While unconfirmed, there is evidence Electronic Arts might bring back a Battlefield 1 Game Mode absent from Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 2042.
The player count for Battlefield 2042 began to increase dramatically after the launch of Season 6 on October 10 according to updated Steam charts. The Battlefield 2042 community, including Reddit user NAABgamer02, noticed the increasing player count and 24-hour peak on October 14 at nearly 59,500 Steam users. The 24-hour peak on Steam has grown to 81,842 total players on the weekend, which is the second-highest peak player count in the game's near two-year history. This major player increase is due to the game's 84% sale, the Battlefield 2042 free access period, and the aforementioned launch of Season 6.
The Battlefield 2042 Steam sale and free access weekend have garnered a positive response from some fans, and some users note that the game is rising as one of Steam's top-selling games. However, other Battlefield fans still criticize the game for its lack of optimization and features, including the omission of an official queue for the fan-favorite 64-player Conquest mode. Instead, Battlefield 2042 includes a queue for the new Redacted Conquest mode for Season 6.
This weekend's massive player increase is a promising sign since new and returning Battlefield 2042 players are actively seeking matches for the Redacted Conquest and other existing modes. Battlefield 2042's player base is recovering in 2023, and the combination of Season 6's launch and free access appears to have worked out quite nicely for EA and DICE.
Battlefield 2042 still has room for improvement, and more quality-of-life and performance updates may be necessary to win back even more players over the long term. The Battlefield 2042 free access period will be active until October 16, and it remains to be seen if the game will retain a sizable portion of the current player base throughout Season 6.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
