EA is laying off Battlefield developers despite Battlefield 6’s record 2025 launch

It’s been only a few months since Battlefield 6 arrived on the scene and became one of the biggest launches in the franchise’s history. Despite this success, EA has unfortunately laid off an unknown number of employees across Battlefield studios.

This involves staff members from Criterion, DICE, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios, all key units that worked together to bring Battlefield’s original charm back to life. According to employees, EA is undergoing a “realignment” to bolster its focus on live-service support and what “players want most.”

In October 2025, Battlefield 6 launched and sold over 7 million copies in just three days, topped the Steam charts, and was dubbed the best-selling game of the year. Battlefield 6’s multiplayer mode was praised by gamers, who amassed a peak concurrent player count of 747,000 right from the get-go. Fans were happy, and so was EA, which called the launch “record-shattering.”

Fast-forward to 2026, and the hype around Battlefield 6 has dwindled considerably. Player counts have plummeted since the start of the year, dropping from an average of 100,000 at the beginning of January to 70,000 concurrent users by February 2026.

Player counts spiked with the launch of Season 2, reaching 96,000 concurrent users. However, the player count then plummeted drastically to nearly 50,000 concurrent players by 9 March 2026.

Steam user scores reflect the declining player count. The game currently holds a 66% user rating on Steam, with 215,000 positive reviews and 100,000 negative reviews. The reason for this mixed score? Players have been complaining that EA has been inconsistent in shipping updates for the game, with new movement tweaks that didn’t sit well with gamers, and backlash over AI-generated cosmetic items.

However, Battlefield 6’s free-to-play battle royale mode, Redsec, has been met with heavy criticism, with a 45% “Mostly Negative” user score on Steam. Gamers slammed EA for small maps, in-game pop-up ads, and the general feeling that Redsec was forced on players, which led to review bombing.

Developers have tried to contain the backlash, stating, “This is just the beginning.” But the damage has already been done.

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