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EA loads up “Battlefield 6” to take on Call of Duty ahead of its move to go private
Electronic Arts (EA.O) is taking a fresh swing with its latest Battlefield release — betting big that the game can do what its predecessor couldn’t: restore the franchise’s reputation and chip away at Call of Duty’s long-standing dominance in the first-person shooter genre.
Set for release on Friday, Battlefield 6 will test EA’s ability to leverage its intellectual property to draw players — coming just weeks after the company agreed to sell its gaming assets to a Saudi-backed investment group in a $55 billion deal built around its valuable game portfolio.
EA’s other shooter titles, including Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Star Wars Battlefront, have seen waning popularity, leaving the publisher increasingly reliant on one of its most iconic series to keep players engaged amid tariff-driven economic uncertainty.
“Battlefield 6 is a pivotal release,” said Joost van Dreunen, a games professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. “EA needs a clear win to move forward in this next phase — and Battlefield 6 has to perform well in what’s become a tough and chaotic market.”
A strong start
The game’s beta test in August drew more than 521,000 concurrent PC players, setting a franchise record that even surpassed Call of Duty’s all-time peak of about 491,000, according to Steam Charts.
Cross-platform data compiled by Newzoo for Reuters showed an average of 10.6 million daily active users during the testing phase, peaking at 12 million over the first weekend.
Players have been drawn to Battlefield 6’s modern setting, massive open combat zones, and refined visuals. The title was developed by four in-house studios under the leadership of Call of Duty veterans Vince Zampella and Byron Beede.
The project aims to avoid the missteps that sank Battlefield 2042, which EA acknowledged had underperformed. Released in 2021 with significant technical issues, that installment saw its player base collapse within months.
Critics argued that 2042 strayed too far from the series’ core identity by dropping the single-player campaign and replacing the traditional four-class system with “specialists” who could use any weapon or gadget — eroding team roles and balance.
Battlefield 6 brings that class system back.
“The biggest complaint was about that specialist system — it just didn’t feel like Battlefield, and the core players didn’t buy in,” said Alicia Reese, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Call of Duty fatigue
After 21 mainline entries and nearly two decades of annual releases, Call of Duty fatigue may finally be giving EA an opening.
The Activision-Blizzard franchise, now owned by Microsoft, has sold over 500 million copies, but its increasing focus on in-game monetization has frustrated many long-time fans.
Its recent strategy has revolved around selling cosmetic bundles and licensing pop-culture tie-ins — from Snoop Dogg and Nicki Minaj to Beavis and Butt-Head — which critics say have diluted the series’ trademark realism.
The next Call of Duty title, Black Ops 7, due out in November, has already faced backlash on social media. The game’s debut trailer, released on August 19, drew over 534,000 dislikes and just 69,000 likes, according to third-party estimates.
By contrast, the Battlefield 6 trailer, which premiered in July, received more than 543,000 likes and only about 5,000 dislikes.
YouTube no longer displays dislike counts publicly, and Reuters could not independently verify third-party figures. Google, which owns YouTube, did not respond to requests for comment.
“There are serious questions about this Call of Duty entry — has it gone too far into the realm of fantasy and science fiction?” said Chris Hewish, a former Activision executive and now president of the gaming fintech firm Xsolla.
Even so, the franchise’s popularity remains undeniable — millions of copies are expected to sell, and tens of thousands of players will flock to Microsoft’s Xbox service. Developers acknowledged the criticism in an August post:
“Some of you have said we’ve strayed from what made Call of Duty unique in the first place. We hear you.”
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