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List of best-selling video games

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This is a list of fifty video games that have verifiably sold the highest number of software units worldwide. The best-selling video game to date is Minecraft, a 2011 multi-platform sandbox game released by Mojang. As of October 2023, it became the first video game to sell over 300 million copies.[1] Its closest competitor, Grand Theft Auto V, is the only other video game to have reached both 100 and 200 million copies. The best-selling single-platform game is Wii Sports, with nearly 83 million sales exclusively for the Wii console. Three of the most represented video game franchises on this list feature Pokémon, Mario, and Call of Duty.

In certain instances, Tetris is often considered the best-selling video game as opposed to Minecraft.[2][3] The inconsistency originates from the differentiation between standalone game releases and the comprehensive Tetris franchise as a whole.[1][4] According to The Tetris Company, the sales figures are attributed to the franchise altogether.[5] Another sales issue involves The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which game director Todd Howard claims has sold over 60 million copies,[6] can be deemed contentious due to Howard's history of making exaggerated statements about his games.[7] The 2000 video game The Sims, published by Electronic Arts, is frequently reported as having sold 100 million copies.[8][9][10] However, this sales figure is disputed due to ambiguous phrasing from the official source: "The first game from The Sims was sold in 2000 and has gone on to become the best-selling PC game franchise of all time".[11]

Snake, a 1998 game released on Nokia 6110, is estimated to have shipped on over 400 million devices,[12] is not classified among the best-selling video games as it was pre-installed and freely accessible on Nokia mobile phones. As a result, it does not meet the criteria for inclusion in sales-based rankings, despite its extensive distribution. Other metrics, such as "players", typically refer to the number of active users engaging with the game, rather than the actual sales. Even for paid games, this metric reflects user activity and engagement as opposed to commercial success regarding units sold.[13][14]

For this list, enhanced versions like Pokémon Yellow or Wii Fit Plus, along with expansion packs,[a] are considered iterative updates to the original games and are designed to coexist with them. Therefore, combining their sales provides a more complete impression of the game's overall growth. In contrast, remakes and remasters are standalone releases aimed at new audiences and updated to meet modern technological standards.[15] Reporting their sales separately ensures an accurate representation of their performance and avoids inflating legacy figures.

Overview of best-selling video games
Title Sales Series Platform(s) Initial release date Developer(s)[b] Publisher(s)[b] Ref.
Minecraft 350,000,000 Minecraft Multi-platform November 18, 2011[c] Mojang Studios Mojang Studios / Xbox Game Studios [18]
Grand Theft Auto V 215,000,000 Grand Theft Auto Multi-platform September 17, 2013 Rockstar North Rockstar Games [19]
Wii Sports 82,900,000 Wii Wii November 19, 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [20]
Ark: Survival Evolved 79,045,000 Ark Multi-platform August 29, 2017 Studio Wildcard Studio Wildcard [d]
Mario Kart 8 / Deluxe 76,660,000 Mario Kart Wii U / Switch May 29, 2014 Nintendo EAD / Nintendo EPD (Deluxe) Nintendo [e]
Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow 76,140,000 Pokémon Multi-platform February 27, 1996 Game Freak Nintendo [f]
PUBG: Battlegrounds 75,000,000 PUBG Universe Multi-platform December 20, 2017 PUBG Studios Krafton [28]
Red Dead Redemption 2 74,000,000 Red Dead Multi-platform October 26, 2018 Rockstar Games Rockstar Games [19]
The Sims 70,000,000 The Sims Multi-platform February 4, 2000 Maxis Electronic Arts [29]
The Oregon Trail 65,000,000 The Oregon Trail Multi-platform December 3, 1971 Don Rawitsch
Bill Heinemann
Paul Dillenberger 		MECC [30]
Terraria 64,000,000 None Multi-platform May 16, 2011 Re-Logic Re-Logic / 505 Games [31]
Super Mario Bros. 58,000,000 Super Mario Multi-platform September 13, 1985 Nintendo R&D4 Nintendo [32]
Human: Fall Flat 55,000,000 None Multi-platform July 22, 2016 No Brakes Games Curve Digital [33]
Bejeweled 50,000,000 Bejeweled Multi-platform 2000 PopCap Games PopCap Games [34]
Overwatch Overwatch Multi-platform May 24, 2016 Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment [35]
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Witcher Multi-platform May 19, 2015 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [36]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 47,820,000 Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch March 20, 2020 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [24]
Wii Fit / Plus 43,800,000 Wii Wii December 1, 2007 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [g]
Call of Duty: Black Ops III 43,000,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 6, 2015 Treyarch Activision [37]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 41,000,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform October 25, 2019 Infinity Ward Activision [37]
Stardew Valley None Multi-platform February 26, 2016 ConcernedApe Chucklefish / ConcernedApe [38]
World of Warcraft 40,600,000 Warcraft PC November 23, 2004 Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment [39]
Payday 2 40,000,000 Payday Multi-platform August 13, 2013 Overkill Software 505 Games [40]
Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog Multi-platform June 23, 1991 Sonic Team Sega [41]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Elder Scrolls Multi-platform November 11, 2011 Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks [42]
Mario Kart Wii 37,380,000 Mario Kart Wii April 10, 2008 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [20]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 36,240,000 Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Switch December 7, 2018 Bandai Namco Studios / Sora Ltd. Nintendo [24]
The Sims 4 36,000,000 The Sims Multi-platform September 2, 2014 Maxis Electronic Arts [43]
Tetris (Game Boy) 35,000,000 Tetris Game Boy June 14, 1989 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo [44]
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 34,510,000 The Legend of Zelda Wii U / Switch March 3, 2017 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [h]
Hogwarts Legacy 34,000,000 Wizarding World Multi-platform February 10, 2023 Avalanche Software Warner Bros. Games [46]
Wii Sports Resort 33,140,000 Wii Wii June 25, 2009 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [20]
Call of Duty: Black Ops II 31,000,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 12, 2012 Treyarch Activision [47]
New Super Mario Bros. 30,800,000 Super Mario Nintendo DS May 15, 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [48]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 30,720,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 9, 2010 Treyarch Activision [47]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 30,710,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 8, 2011 Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Activision [47]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 30,320,000 Super Mario Wii November 11, 2009 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [20]
Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal 30,120,000 Pokémon Game Boy Color November 21, 1999 Game Freak Nintendo [i]
Black Myth: Wukong 30,000,000 None Multi-platform August 20, 2024 Game Science Game Science [51]
Borderlands 2 Borderlands Multi-platform September 18, 2012 Gearbox Software 2K Games [52]
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Call of Duty Multi-platform November 13, 2020 Treyarch / Raven Software Activision [37]
Call of Duty: Vanguard Call of Duty Multi-platform November 5, 2021 Sledgehammer Games Activision [53]
Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk Multi-platform December 10, 2020 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [54]
Diablo III Diablo Multi-platform May 16, 2012 Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment [55]
Elden Ring Elden Ring Multi-platform February 25, 2022 FromSoftware Bandai Namco [56]
Super Mario Odyssey 29,280,000 Super Mario Nintendo Switch October 27, 2017 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [24]
Call of Duty: Ghosts 28,980,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 5, 2013 Infinity Ward Activision [47]
Monster Hunter: World 28,510,000 Monster Hunter Multi-platform January 26, 2018 Capcom Capcom [57]
Duck Hunt 28,300,000 None Famicom / NES April 21, 1984 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo [58]
Wii Play 28,020,000 Wii Wii December 2, 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [20]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Sales of expansion packs are only included with those of the original game when they are explicitly specified in the reported totals.
  2. ^ a b Only developers and publishers for the original release of each game are listed, except where noted otherwise.
  3. ^ Although Minecraft was first publicly available on May 17, 2009,[16] and the full release on November 18, 2011, the game first accepted pre-orders on June 13, 2009, so it started accumulating sales at that time.[17]
  4. ^ As of October 2023, Ark: Survival Evolved had sold over 76 million copies.[21] An additional 745,000 units were sold throughout the fourth quarter of 2023, followed by 2.3 million more in 2024.[22]
  5. ^ Mario Kart 8 sold 8.46 million units[23] and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 68.20 million units.[24]
  6. ^ Red and Blue versions sold 60 million units and the Yellow version sold 14.64 million units on Game Boy,[25][26] and all versions sold a combined 1.5 million units on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.[27]
  7. ^ Wii Fit sold 22.67 million units and Wii Fit Plus sold 21.13 million units.[20]
  8. ^ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 32.81 million units on Nintendo Switch,[24] and 1.70 million units on Wii U.[45]
  9. ^ Gold and Silver versions sold 23.73 million units[49] and the Crystal version sold 6.39 million units.[50]

References

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