Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
3h ago

Battlefield 2042 Briefly Tops Call of Duty on Steam After Free Pass Update

The short-lived lead reflects incentives that drove logins in 2042 rather than a broader shift in overall player share.

black ops 6 character and battlefield 2042 character
The least-popular Battlefield game is now bigger than Call of Duty on Steam
Image
Image

Overview

  • SteamCharts data showed Battlefield 2042 peaking around 74,000 concurrent players over 24 hours versus roughly 70,000 for Call of Duty, with a momentary lead on Aug. 24–25.
  • A surprise 2042 patch added the Iwo Jima map and a free Battle Pass that grants cosmetics usable in Battlefield 6, drawing players back.
  • The game’s price dropped to about $3 on Steam, lowering the barrier to try or revisit the shooter.
  • Reporters noted many users idled in Portal AFK servers to grind the free pass, inflating concurrent counts without active play.
  • Coverage cautioned the comparison is Steam-only and that Call of Duty’s Steam app aggregates multiple titles while most of its audience is on consoles, so the spike signals momentum rather than overall dominance.