In its early days, BF2042 even surpassed Call of Duty in the number of concurrent players, reviving interest in a project that many consider the weakest in the series.
Despite DICE's claims that the operator skins in Battlefield 6 will be "realistic" and in keeping with the spirit of the franchise, players are finding it hard to believe this until the game is released. The popularity of BF2042 immediately affected sales: the incentive of rewards for Battlefield 6 pushed players to return to the old game. Although there are reports that some players are not actually playing.
According to Alinea Analytics, almost 500,000 copies of BF2042 have been sold on Steam, and if you take into account PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and other digital platforms, the real figure could be even higher. An additional factor was the extremely low price - $2.99 on Steam.
Social networks are full of messages from fans who are returning to BF2042 to get soldier skins and other rewards for Battlefield 6, although criticism of the basic gameplay remains. DICE continues to update BF2042, but the main driver of interest remains the rewards for the new installment and the price.
Battlefield 6 will be released on October 10, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.