Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:EA, ETR:ERT)’ upcoming release of Battlefield 6 could prove a turning point for the franchise, according to analysts at Wedbush, who reiterated an “Outperform” rating on the stock with a $210 price target.
Shares of EA traded hands at about $173 on Monday afternoon, giving the company a market capitalization of $43.15 billion.
The analysts highlighted record engagement during the game’s beta test last week, noting it marked a milestone for the franchise.
“The Battlefield 6 beta saw the largest player count in the franchise’s history, beating the 13.2 million record set by Battlefield 1,” Wedbush wrote.
At its peak, the beta drew 521,000 concurrent players on Steam, topping Call of Duty’s 492,000 peak.
By comparison, the prior Battlefield 2042 beta reached just 157,000 concurrent players.
If participation ratios track past releases, Wedbush estimated the latest beta could imply upwards of 25 million players.
While feedback from players during the second beta weekend included concerns about map scale, movement speed, matchmaking, and weapon balancing, analysts argued that those issues were manageable.
“All these concerns are relatively minor in our view with the development team already working to address them with updates and planned content,” the analysts wrote.
Importantly, Wedbush highlighted that the reaction is not comparable to the Battlefield 2042 beta, when the introduction of a “specialized character system” alienated longtime fans.
“None of the common complaints from the BF6 beta warrant such concern,” the analysts wrote.
Attention now turns to how the title will perform against Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which has drawn a tepid reception since its reveal.
Wedbush noted that while competition between the two franchises is inevitable, Call of Duty’s inclusion in Xbox Game Pass could inadvertently benefit Battlefield 6.
“A large portion of Call of Duty players not required to pay $70 for the game leaves money on the table to purchase Battlefield,” they said.
Wedbush expects Battlefield 6 will likely finish as the second or third best-selling entry in the franchise, behind Battlefield 1 and possibly Battlefield 3.
The analysts currently forecast launch-year sales of about 7 million units but see potential for up to 15 million units sold over the first year, which could add $0.80 to their fiscal year 2026 earnings per share estimate.
Longer term, the firm sees upside if EA executes on its free-to-play Battlefield battle royale mode, particularly as Activision’s Call of Duty: Warzone faces challenges.
“There’s clearly potential for BF6 to take the crown, but we don’t want to get ahead of our skis on just beta data,” the analysts concluded.