EA’s Battlefield 6 Beats Black Ops 6 in European Release Week3 min read

Battlefield 6 Outperforms Call of Duty Across Europe

The newly released Battlefield 6 game has been hugely successful in Europe, beating both the series’ projected performance and its competitor Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (premium sales only) in its first week of release. Battlefield 6 started in Europe with a mix of digital and hard premium sales, easily topping Black Ops 6’s first sales figures.

According to the same data, Battlefield 6’s launch was four times larger than Battlefield V’s (usually viewed as the franchise’s last safe bet) release in the same region, showing a major improvement for Battlefield over its own prior entry during the European launch week. Check the full Battlefield 6 age-rating breakdown.

A Stronger Comeback for the Franchise

Why this really matters For many years, especially in North America and Europe, the Call of Duty franchise ruled the premium shooter market. Battlefield 6’s higher sales of premium copies over Black Ops 6 show that EA’s risk of reviving the Battlefield brand has paid off, or at the very least, that the early reaction from the market has been very encouraging. Yet there have been major limitations to the data. 

Black Ops 6 may have a far larger player base than premium purchases alone suggest because it is a part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The comparison data only includes the premium purchases; subscription access and free-to-play models are not.

The rise could be caused by a number of relevant factors:

• Consumer sentiment and brand reset: Players widely expected a good release after the previous Battlefield entry faced criticism and received less involvement. There is also a new Battlefield 6 anti-cheat system that assists with this attraction.

• Marketing and hype: Fans seeking a high-end large-scale shooter experience seemed to have responded well to the build-up to release.

• Competition and timing: It’s likely that drawing greater attention could have been helped by launching before a few major rival entries.

• Premium focus: The data shows premium purchases, showing that players who were willing to pay full price were certain of the item’s value and quality.

But it’s very important to maintain balance. In today’s shooter world, premium purchases only offer a portion of the picture; other key KPIs include in-game engagement, monetized live-service content, long-term retention, and access through subscription services. 

The Impact of Game Pass

Black Ops 6’s premium sales data could not correctly reflect the game’s whole user base or potential for revenue because it is available through Game Pass. Learn how Battlefield 6 bot lobbies work.

The early success boosts the bar for continued support and live-service roll-out for EA and the Battlefield team. Currently, the question is whether Battlefield 6 will keep up momentum beyond launch, offer valuable content after its launch, and turn early buyers into a loyal community.

If successful, this might revive the Battlefield series and signal a real change in the first-person shooter structure (at least in Europe). Grab the latest Battlefield 6 double XP codes.

All things taken into account, Battlefield 6’s European launch makes a powerful statement: premium sales are solid, the appeal of the core brand remains intact, and EA may have gained ground in the shooter wars. Battlefield has won for the time being, but the fight is far from finished.