The Battlefield 2042 free weekend and Season 6 offering is bringing much attention to the game, as it has managed to break its all-time high for concurrent players on Steam.

A few days ago, we reported on Battlefield 2042 having its strongest month in player count since release, though a number that was shy of its all-time high. As of today, Battlefield has managed to break that record (according to Steamcharts), accumulating 101,362 concurrent players on Steam. For reference, launch day numbers were around 100,590 players. 

Mind you, these are only Steam numbers, meaning the actually in-game player count is higher than this when you account for console players. It may not be an insane amount more, but it’s still more. 

Regardless, this is very impressive for a title that has struggled to retain players since its launch. This is even more impressive considering that DICE has held other free-to-play trials prior that didn’t see a significant boost of players. It’s also during the Modern Warfare 3 open beta weekend, making this feat even more impressive. 

Now, the big question is whether or not the game will retain a feasible amount of players once the free trial period is over. Battlefield Season 6 brought over some worthwhile content and much-needed improvements, but so have all the other past seasons, to the point that we can say that Battlefield 2042 is a far better game than most remember. But is it enough?

Looking at the charts for the last three days, we can see that there have been significant dips in the player count since the trial started. But interpreting this data shows those dips happening during the “off” hours when players may be going to bed, assuming most are stateside. Even at the drops, the player count had nearly doubled the previous average (from 5,000-6,000 to 10,000-13,000), with the following day seeing a massive player boom. This could indicate that players are returning the next day, possibly bringing in their friends and other new players. 

It’ll be interesting to see the drop-off and retention after the trial. If the momentum keeps up, hopefully, DICE will continue working on more seasons, as this potentially has the makings of one of gaming’s biggest comebacks.