Battlefield 2042 player counts beat Black Ops 6 and Warzone

Once dismissed as the low point of the Battlefield franchise, 2042 is suddenly back in the spotlight, and against all odds, it's even outpacing Call of Duty on Steam.

The most heavily criticised and arguably biggest flop in the DICE-developed Battlefield franchise has long been Battlefield 2042. Its troubled launch and negative reception were the main reasons why EA brought in Vince Zampella, the "father" of the Call of Duty series, to oversee production of the upcoming Battlefield 6. Fresh leadership, fresh decisions, and a new perspective on DICE's work have since proven to be a wise move.

The beta for Battlefield 6 has already drawn in millions of players and received widespread praise, sparking renewed interest in the entire series. In fact, the so-called "flop" 2042 is now experiencing an unexpected revival. According to Steam statistics, the game recently surpassed concurrent player counts for Call of Duty, including both Black Ops 6 multiplayer and Warzone.

In the last 24 hours, Battlefield 2042 climbed to 74,280 concurrent players, compared to Call of Duty's 66,239. These numbers don't even account for Battle.net, Xbox, or PlayStation platforms, meaning the actual gap could be wider. Two years ago, few would have predicted such a turnaround, proof that sometimes all it takes is a new direction to breathe life back into a franchise.

Are you one of the many currently playing Battlefield 2042 instead of BLOPS6 or Warzone?