This article will tell you about some of the best-selling video games of all time
Games have always existed in a data-driven industry. In the 1990s, Sega vs. Nintendo defined a generation, whereas today’s comparably mild console battles and monthly NPD reports maintain sales data at the center of game-related debate.
New monetization strategies necessitate new success indicators — monthly active users, player retention rates, in-game money, and so on — but one of the industry’s most pressing issues remains: What are the best-selling video games of all time?
To answer this question, we set out to assemble the most accurate list possible by contacting publishers and poring over financial data, news pieces, interviews, and other materials. As a result, the ten best-selling video games of all time are listed here.
10. Overwatch – 50 Million
According to a Bloomberg story released in April 2022, Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch sold 50 million copies.
With excellent game design, meticulously developed heroes, and ongoing esports backing, Overwatch elevated the hero shooter genre. Overwatch was superseded in October 2022 by its free-to-play successor, Overwatch 2.
9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 50 million+
The Witcher 3 joined this list in May 2023, when CD Projekt Red announced that its landmark RPG had sold 50 million copies. Meanwhile, total sales for The Witcher series have surpassed 75 million.
The firm is now working on numerous new Witcher titles, including The Witcher 4 and a recreation of The Witcher 1.
8. Red Dead Redemption 2 – 55 million+
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the most recently published game to make the top ten. According to Take-Two’s most recent financial report, Rockstar’s Western epic sold more than 55 million copies by August.
7. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – 60 million+
After years of silence on Skyrim’s sales figures, Bethesda’s Todd Howard disclosed in June 2023 that the RPG has sold more than 60 million units since its first release in 2011.
“We’re sitting here, and it’s 12 years after Skyrim,” Howard explained to IGN. “We’re looking at a game that has over 60 million copies, and all these people playing… they’re still playing it.”
Bethesda Game Studios’ next release is Starfield, a space-themed RPG that will be available on Xbox One and PC on September 6.
6. Mario Kart 8 + Deluxe – 65 million+
According to Nintendo, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game, with over 55 million units sold as of June 30, 2023.
When sales of the original Wii U release are included, the number jumps to about 64 million, making it the sixth-best-selling game of all time. Given the 11-million-unit sales disparity between it and the next-best-selling game, MK8 is unlikely to climb any higher on this list.
5. Player Unknown Battle Grounds – 75 million
Given its pivotal role in the rise of battle royale games over the previous five years, it’s no surprise that PUBG has been a huge sales success.
Krafton creative director Dave Curd told The Verge that as of September 2021, PUBG had sold 75 million copies. That will almost certainly be the shooter’s final sales figure, as it went free to play a month later in January 2022.
While free mobile downloads do not count against sales, PUBG Mobile had been downloaded over 1 billion times as of March 2021.
4. Wii Sports – 82.9 million
Wii Sports is Nintendo’s best-selling game ever, according to official sales numbers. While the majority of the games on this list were packed with a system at some point, Wii Sports was included with the Wii in nearly every territory from launch.
It is the best-selling single-platform exclusive of all time, with approximately 83 million copies sold.
3. Grand Theft Auto V – 210 million+
The best-selling console/PC-only game of all time is Grand Theft Auto 5 (the top two entries on this list also have mobile versions).
As of September 2023, sales of Rockstar’s most ambitious GTA ever had topped 185 million units. This figure aggregates the game’s sales across three console generations and the PC from 2013 and 2022.
GTA 5 was the fastest entertainment release across all mediums to exceed $1 billion — and it’s since earned Rockstar and Take-Two billions more, making it the most successful entertainment release of all time, at least as of 2018.
2. Minecraft – 280 million+
According to Microsoft, Minecraft had sold 238 million copies as of September 2023, however, its sales number has undoubtedly risen in the year since.
According to the corporation, that figure represents total revenues across its 22 available platforms. And, with film, Netflix, education, toys, and a slew of other projects either completed or in the works, Minecraft has transcended the medium in ways few others have.
We requested an updated sales total from Microsoft but did not receive a response.
1. Tetris – 520 million
Tetris, arguably the most timeless video game ever created, is an all-time best-seller, with 520 million copies sold, according to The Tetris Company.
This figure covers sales from all available platforms, with mobile accounting for the vast majority: According to Henk Rogers, executive director of The Tetris Company, Tetris reached 425 million paid smartphone downloads in 2014.
Tetris was first produced on the Soviet Union’s Elektronika 60 computer, and variations of the popular puzzler have subsequently been developed for over 50 different platforms.
Notably, it was instrumental in the Game Boy’s success, with the handheld platform eventually selling 35 million copies.
