Games have always existed in a numbers-obsessed industry. Sega vs. Nintendo defined a generation in the '90s, while today's more mild console wars and monthly NPD reports keep sales figures near the forefront of games-related discussion. New monetization models require new metrics for success — monthly active users, player retention rates, in-game revenue, etc. — but one of the industry's biggest questions remains: What are the best-selling video games of all time?
To answer this question, we set out to compile the most accurate list possible by reaching out to publishers and digging through financial reports, news stories, interviews, and more. The result is the following list of the ten best-selling video games of all time.
Our August 2022 update includes a new addition to the list and official updates for eight games.
Some notes up front:
- Pack-in games are counted toward sales totals, considering most games on this list were, at one point, bundled with a console.
- Free downloads are not counted as sales, excluding massively successful games like Fortnite and League of Legends from a list like this.
- Due to a lack of available sales data, we could not include certain games that may have earned a spot on this list. Skyrim is one such game: In a November 2021 episode of IGN Unfiltered, Todd Howard said Skyrim has sold “far more” than 30 million copies. Given that comment, its wide-reaching popularity, and many re-releases over the past decade, it’s possible it has outsold some games on this list. However, Bethesda didn’t respond to a request for sales information.
- We also reached out to Activision-Blizzard seeking updated sales numbers for Diablo 3 (30 million units sold as of June 2015) and the Call of Duty franchise, but did not receive updated information to include those games on this list.
10. Red Dead Redemption 2 – 46 million+
The most recently released game to earn a spot in the top ten is Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar’s western epic has sold over 46 million copies as of September 30, 2022, according to publisher Take-Two’s latest financial report.
9. Pokemon Gen 1 – 47 million
In Japan, the era-defining original Pokemon was available in two versions at launch (Red and Green) before coming to other territories as Pokemon Red and Blue. Yellow Version (aka Special Pikachu Edition) followed between 1998 and 2000, depending on the territory.
While Nintendo hasn't publicly shared a sales total for the first generation of Pokemon games, survey data from the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA)* put the four versions' combined sales around 45 million copies — approximately 31.05 million for Red/Blue/Green and 14.64 million for Yellow. 1.5 million copies were also sold on 3DS through Virtual Console, according to Nintendo, bringing the estimated total of Pokemon’s first-gen games to roughly 47 million.
We reached out to Nintendo for an official number and didn’t receive a response. However, we do have an official sales total for the franchise: Pokemon games collectively sold over 440 million units by the end of March 2022.
*CESA is a respected industry publication out of Japan. The association's annual “white paper" details Japanese and global video game sales data collected through surveys of publishers. Member companies include Sony, Microsoft Japan, Capcom, Square Enix, EA, and Atlus; Nintendo is listed as a “special supporting member.”
8. Super Mario Bros. – 48 million
The lifetime sales total of Super Mario Bros. sits at just over 48 million units, according to CESA. It’s the best-selling NES game ever, with an estimated 40.24 million copies sold on the console. Other versions factored into this sales total include the Game Boy Color remake Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (~5 million), GBA’s Classic NES Series: Super Mario Bros. (~2 million), and Virtual Console sales (~.66 million).
In addition to the platforms listed above, various versions of the iconic platformer were released for arcade, Game & Watch, PC-88, Sharp X1, Nintendo's PlayChoice-10, SNES (via Super Mario All-Stars), NES Classic, and Nintendo Switch (via Nintendo Switch Online).
We reached out to Nintendo for an official sales total and didn’t receive a response as of publish.
7. Overwatch – 50 million
Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch has sold 50 million copies, according to a Bloomberg report published in April 2022. Overwatch elevated the hero shooter genre with brilliant game design, thoughtfully crafted heroes, and continued esports support. In October of 2022, Overwatch will be replaced by its free-to-play sequel, Overwatch 2.
6. Mario Kart 8 + Deluxe – 55.28 million
With 46.82 million copies sold (as of June 30, 2022), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game, according to Nintendo. Factor in sales of the original Wii U release and that total rises to 55.28 million. Unless MK8 sees another major re-release, though, it's unlikely to rise any higher on this list given the 20-million-unit sales gap between it and the next-best-selling game, though.
5. PUBG – 75 million
Given its critical role in the rising popularity of battle royale games over the last five years, it’s unsurprising that PUBG has been such a massive sales success. Krafton creative director Dave Curd told The Verge it has sold 75 million copies of PUBG as of December 2021. That will likely be the shooter’s final sales tally, as it went free to play a month later in January 2022.
While free mobile downloads don't count toward its sales total, it's worth noting PUBG Mobile had been downloaded over 1 billion times as of March 2021.
4. Wii Sports – 82.9 million
According to Nintendo's official sales figures, Wii Sports is the company's best-selling game ever. While most entries on this list were bundled with a console at some point, Wii Sports was bundled with the Wii in nearly all territories at launch. At nearly 83 million copies sold, it’s the top-selling single-platform exclusive of all time.
3. Grand Theft Auto V – 170 million
Grand Theft Auto 5 is the best-selling console/PC-only game of all time (the top two entries on this list have mobile versions, too). Sales of Rockstar’s most ambitious GTA yet have surpassed 170 million units as of September 30, 2022. That number compiles the game’s sales totals from across three console generations and PC between 2013 and 2022.
GTA 5 was the fastest entertainment release across all mediums to reach $1 billion — and it’s since earned Rockstar and Take-Two billions more, making it the most-profitable entertainment release ever, at least as of 2018.
2. Minecraft – 238 million
Minecraft had sold 238 million copies as of April 2021, according to Microsoft, though its sales total has certainly climbed higher in the year-plus since. The company notes that figure captures the sales total across its 22 available platforms. And with film, Netflix, education, toy, and many other projects either completed or in the works, Minecraft has transcended the medium in a way few others have before it.
We reached out to Microsoft for an updated sales total and didn’t receive a response.
1. Tetris – 520 million
Arguably the most timeless video game ever created, Tetris sits comfortably atop the list of all-time bestsellers with 520 million copies sold, according to The Tetris Company. That number includes sales across all available platforms, with the majority coming from mobile: Henk Rogers, The Tetris Company's managing director, said Tetris had 425 million paid mobile downloads as of 2014.
Tetris was initially released for the Soviet Union-developed Elektronika 60 computer, and variations of the classic puzzler have since been made for over 50 different platforms. Notably, it helped launch the Game Boy to success, eventually selling 35 million copies on Nintendo's handheld console.
Modern variations of the classic are still being released: Tetris Effect: Connected brought the puzzler to current-gen consoles with an emotional twist, while most recently, in 2020, SEGA released Puyo Puyo Tetris 2.
August 2022 updates:
- Added: Overwatch
- Removed: Mario Kart Wii
- Updated: Tetris, Minecraft, GTA V, PUBG, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario Bros., Pokemon, Red Dead 2
source https://www.ign.com/articles/best-selling-video-games-of-all-time-grand-theft-auto-minecraft-tetris
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