Summary
Battlefield 2042is 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 forBattlefield 2042, including the recent launch of Season 6: Dark Creations.
AlthoughBattlefield 2042’slaunch 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 2042Season 6: Dark Creationsappears 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, andBattlefield 2042is experiencing its most notable player increase during the season’s first weekend.
The player count forBattlefield 2042began to increase dramatically after the launch of Season 6 on October 10 according to updated Steam charts. TheBattlefield 2042community, 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, theBattlefield 2042free access period, and the aforementioned launch of Season 6.
TheBattlefield 2042Steam 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, otherBattlefieldfans 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 2042includes a queue forthe new Redacted Conquest mode for Season 6.
This weekend’s massive player increase is a promising sign since new and returningBattlefield 2042players are actively seeking matches for the Redacted Conquest and other existing modes.Battlefield 2042’splayer base is recoveringin 2023, and the combination of Season 6’s launch and free access appears to have worked out quite nicely for EA and DICE.
Battlefield 2042still 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. TheBattlefield 2042free 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 2042is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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