DICE released a surprise patch for Battlefield 2042, including a free Battle Pass with rewards for Battlefield 6. This caused the game's activity on Steam to increase by over 500%!
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 installment in the series.
Despite DICE's claims that the operator skins in Battlefield 6 will be "realistic" and in line 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 actually not playing.
According to Alinea Analytics, nearly 500,000 copies of BF2042 have been sold on Steam, and if you include PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and other digital platforms, the real number could be even higher. An additional factor was the extremely low price tag — $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.
