Based on Steam numbers, Battlefield 2042's player count has dropped 70 percent in the two weeks since its worldwide launch. Given the disappointment expressed by Battlefield 2042 users, such a dropoff hardly comes as a surprise. Though hype for the new entry was initially through the roof, the excitement dwindled once players went hands-on with a beta build that failed to meet expectations. Performance issues and other errors plaguing the early access period only exacerbated the matter as far as some Battlefiled faithful were concerned.
A day one patch remedied a few of the lingering problems, yet the general lack of polish continued to impact user enjoyment, which, in turn, affected user engagement. DICE has made clear its commitment to sorting through the wide array of shortcomings, of course. However, critics and players alike cannot help but wonder why Battlefield 2042 was allowed to launch in such a state that it's drawing comparisons to Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous release. Amid all the pondering, it seems a considerable portion of the PC player base has decided to move on to greener pastures.
In taking a look at the Steam figures, Battlefield insider Tom Henderson noticed Battlefield 2042's player count on the platform has taken a 70 percent hit since its November 19 release. The first-person shooter's SteamDB page corroborates as much, too. 13 days ago, Battlefield 2042 boasted an all-time peak of 105, 397 concurrent players. At the time of writing, the number of concurrent Steam users is struggling to stay above 30,000 - as shown in the SteamDB screenshot featured below:
Less than a week after the title's launch, DICE claimed Battlefield 2042 had amassed nearly twice as many players as Battlefield 5 in the same timeframe. This number could've been skewed, however, since it's unclear if the 10-hour trial for EA Play and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers also factored into the developer's calculations. Either way, the numbers above make it clear that not everyone is stiking around.
These numbers only reveal part of the tale, given that they exclusively include PC via Steam figures. Battlefield 2042 may have a stronger staying power on Origin, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, though that much will remain a mystery until official sales figures surface. DICE's ongoing support could help turn the tide in the days and weeks ahead; yet, Battlefield 2042's latest patch, despite its heft, managed to ignore some pretty pressing performance issues.
Battlefield 2042 is available to play now across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.
Source: Tom Henderson/Twitter, SteamDB