
Battlefield 6 Crushes Steam Pre-Order Records With $100 Million in Sales Before Launch
October 11, 2025Battlefield 6 is rewriting the rules for blockbuster PC game debuts. On release day, it sits at the very top of Steam’s best-seller chart, outpacing icons like Counter Strike 2 and Little Nightmares 3.
Video game analyst Rhys Elliot didn’t mince words in the latest Alinea Newsletter: Battlefield 6 has already stacked up over $100 million in pre-launch sales on Steam alone. Let that sink in, the game hit nine figures before a single official match was played.
Steam’s Hottest Ticket: Record-Breaking Pre-Launch Momentum
The numbers aren’t just strong; they’re historic. Battlefield 6 claims more than 3.5 million wishlists on Steam and has already raked in 1.8 million pre-orders on the platform. Only a handful of anticipated titles, Subnautica 2, Deadlock, and Light No Fire, currently edge it out in the most-wishlisted game category, keeping Battlefield 6 locked in at number four.
Just behind it on the wishlists: Arc Raiders and Kingmakers. But on the sales front, Battlefield 6 is in a class of its own, eclipsing even long-standing Steam juggernauts.
Beta Buzz Ignites a Classic FPS Rivalry
How did Battlefield 6 get here? The answer’s simple: community energy. Back-to-back open betas didn’t just break records, they smashed them. The best-performing betas in Battlefield history drew a peak concurrent player count of 865,233 on Steam alone.
This tidal wave of player interest has reignited one of gaming’s oldest debates: Call of Duty vs Battlefield. EA hasn’t shied away from stoking the rivalry, parlaying pent-up demand into what’s shaping up to be the most successful PC launch in the series’ history.
On release day, the discussion isn’t about whether Battlefield 6 will succeed, but just how far it’ll go. SteamDB’s real-time charts put Battlefield 6 ahead of all comers. The pre-launch sales alone would be the envy of almost any AAA publisher.
What Critics Are Saying as Battlefield 6 Drops
If you’re still on the fence, reviews are rolling in quickly. In Eurogamer’s Battlefield 6 review, Rick Lane sizes up the game this way:
“Ultimately though, Battlefield 6 clearly understands what makes the series special, even if it occasionally seems reluctant to accept it. Unlike 2042, the fun is easy to find from the outset, and what problems it has are much simpler to fix. It could be more ambitious, and I’d like more of those larger sandboxes to play in, but overall Battlefield 6 is a reliable reset – and, crucially, a very strong foundation for EA to build upon.”
The review’s focus? Battlefield 6 is a return to form that puts fun, chaos, and all-out warfare back in the spotlight, while addressing some of the franchise’s recent missteps. Players can expect a strong launch, but with so much money and attention on the line, all eyes will be on EA’s next moves.
As Battlefield 6 launches across the globe, its early Steam numbers aren’t just a win, they’re a statement. This game isn’t waiting to see if players show up. The crowd’s already here, and it’s massive.