A smartphone with the Electronic Arts logo is seen in front of a displayed "Battlefield 2042" logo in this illustration taken September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
(Reuters) -Electronic Arts' "Battlefield 6" has hit all-time highs for franchise sales during the first three days of its launch, selling over seven million copies, the video game publisher said on Thursday.
EA was betting on the latest "Battlefield" title to restore the franchise's reputation and loosen the dominance of "Call of Duty," published by Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard, in the first-person shooter genre.
"Battlefield 6" was launched on October 10, weeks after EA agreed to a $55 billion sale to a Saudi-backed investor group in a deal fueled by its prized gaming portfolio.
The game had over 172 million matches played online and accumulated over 15 million hours watched on streaming services over the three-day weekend, EA said in a statement. It recorded the highest number of concurrent players ever for "Battlefield."
"Battlefield 6's" Season 1 will be released on October 28. Seasonal content will be rolled out regularly, with the next two phases of the season arriving later this year.
EA's other shooter games such as "Apex Legends," "Titanfall" and "Star Wars Battlefront" have lost steam, forcing it to rely on one of its best-known franchises to attract consumers who are sticking with proven titles amid tariff-led economic worries.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
