Publisher EA appears to have set sky-high expectations for the performance of the nextBattlefieldgame, reportedly hoping that up to 100 million players will engage with the title after it launches. A follow-up to 2021’sBattlefield 2042, the nextBattlefieldis currently calledBattlefield 6by fans.
AfterBattlefield 2042’s prospects were marred by launch problems and low player morale, EA has pulled out all the stops when it comes to righting the ship on its premier first-person shooter franchise.Battlefield 6is in active development, with the ongoingBattlefield Labsprogram using fan participation and feedback to further refine the game’s offerings. Despite various non-disclosure agreements, a number of leaks have come fromBattlefield Labs, revealing footage of the game and even evidence of aplannedBattlefield 6battle royale mode.
Players have seemed fairly positive about what they’ve seen ofBattlefield 6so far, which may be fueling EA’s seemingly extreme expectations for the game’s performance.According to a report published by Ars Technica, EA leadership expects that 100 million players will playBattlefield 6over a period of time after it launches. Though the report doesn’t specify how long a period that is, as a point of comparison,Call of Duty: Warzonepassed the 100 million player milestone in 2021, roughly a year after it launched in 2020.
EA Reportedly Expects 100 Million Players for Battlefield 6
According to the Ars Technica report, EA’s 100-million-player expectation forBattlefield 6is more than three times higher than any game in the franchise has ever achieved before.Battlefield 1is considered by many to be one of the bestBattlefieldgames ever, as well as being the most popular game in the series in terms of player numbers, but even it only managed a total player count of just above 30 million over its lifetime.
The report goes into further detail about theBattlefield 6development process, with the total budget allegedly ballooning past $400 million USD as of 2023. With seeming plans for a battle royale mode and an intent to incorporate themost beloved elements of previousBattlefieldgames, EA appears to believe that its outsized investment inBattlefield 6could put it on even footing to take on leading games in the multiplayer shooter space such as Epic Games’Fortniteand Activision’sCall of Dutyline.
Online reaction to the news was mostly shocked, with many players and commentators openly worried that EA’s expectations might have dire consequences for the developers involved shouldBattlefield 6fall short of them. Some players were hopeful, suggesting that the active involvement of the community in the game’s development could give it the staying power to compete with the industry’s leading live-service games. Time will tell whether EA’s investment and expectations will pay off for the franchise.
