Earth Defense Force 6 was just released on July 25 for PS4/PS5 and PC (Steam/Epic Games Store). In only one day, it has surpassed over 17,000 concurrent players on Steam.

However, this is not just an impressive first day player count. With a peak of 17,863 concurrent players so far, the sixth EDF entry has more than doubled the maximum count of the series’ previous game (as noticed by Game*Spark). Earth Defense Force 5 peaked at 8,416 concurrent players 5 years ago (source: SteamDB). EDF6 is currently the 4^th most popular release on Steam, as shown on the SteamDB top page.

Earth Defense Force 6 EDF6 War of the Worlds — *Fighting off some War of the Worlds-style aliens in Earth Defense Force 6.*

Earth Defense Force 6 sticks with the sci-fi TPS franchise’s goofy and over-the-top premises and tone. As an Earth Defense Force soldier, you must use all the tools at your disposal to battle off hordes of alien invaders that are once again threatening the Earth’s existence. The game is being praised for its cheesy dialogue, smooth action, new maps and weapons. Overall, the game seems to have improved and expanded upon Earth Defense Force 5’s foundations to deliver another title that will appeal to fans of the series.

However, when it comes to reviews, Earth Defense Force 6’s launch hasn’t got off to the smoothest start. Players on Steam are required to log into an Epic Games Account once before they can play the game online, a fact that was not made clear to users before purchase. After disgruntled users negative review bombed the game, D3PUBLISHER made an apology statement and clear explanation regarding the Epic Games Account requirement on the Steam store page announcements.

Earth Defense Force 6 is available for PC (Steam, Epic Games Store) and PS4/PS5.