Battlefield 6 Beta Draws 9,000 Tweaking Settings on Steam

It appears EA might have a major success on its hands, as over 9,000 users were logged into the Battlefield 6 open beta client on Steam following the pre-load's activation.

The pre-load became available starting at 8 AM PT on August 4, allowing eager fans to download the Battlefield 6 open beta well before early access begins at 1 AM PT on August 7 (check IGN's guide for details on how to participate).

Data from SteamDB indicates strong anticipation, with the Battlefield 6 open beta client reaching 9,463 concurrent "players"—days before the beta officially starts. At the time of writing, the client had 3,805 concurrent users.

So, what are people doing with the pre-loaded beta? Many are getting a head start by configuring their settings, spending around half an hour adjusting UI colors and weapon field of view, for instance.

Others are simply using it to share their excitement with friends. "I've logged 6.4 hours in the beta so far," shared Reddit user gruggers1. "I basically just sat in the lobby chatting with friends using the in-game voice chat."

Some players report encountering frustrating PC launch restrictions from EA. It seems the Battlefield 6 open beta may not run unless Secure Boot is enabled in your BIOS, meaning some users are likely troubleshooting that issue as well.

"It's great to be able to test if the game launches, get everything set up, and be ready for the most exciting part," added Reddit user rafahuel.

Every Battlefield game, ranked.

Every Battlefield game, ranked.

     

As many have noted, the number of people idling on the Battlefield 6 Open Beta's menu screen was nearly as high as the peak concurrent player count for the previous game, Battlefield 2042, on Steam—a remarkable comparison. (The beta client's 24-hour peak was 9,463, versus 2042's 11,245 peak).

What does this mean for Battlefield 6? From EA's viewpoint, it signals substantial player interest. EA has committed heavily to Battlefield 6, placing significant pressure on its performance. It will be fascinating to observe the concurrent player numbers on Steam once the open beta officially begins.

In related news, Battlefield 6 producer Jeremy Chubb revealed that the fan-favorite Battlefield: Bad Company 2 served as a "major inspiration" for the development of this upcoming installment in the shooter series.