In this article, we will be focusing on some of the bestselling video games of all time. Sales aren’t the only factor determining how good a game is, but they are a good indicator of how particularly influential games have been over time.
Video games are now prominently centered at the forefront of many people’s lives, thanks to the home gaming market’s continued growth since it began to boom in the late ’70s.
They present opportunities for exploration, rivalry, camaraderie, and, based on the game, perhaps even for frights or amusement.
While countless millions of video games have been released over the years, some have become true cultural icons, standing the test of time and topping the charts for sales.
Which video games have sold the most units overall? To answer this, we set out to create the most accurate list we could to address this inquiry.
And here are some of the bestselling video games of all time.
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (30 Million Copies)
The success of 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare shows how much the Modern Warfare name carries. It was the new COD generation and gritty, realistic, and darker.
This game is intriguing because it revitalized the series, which had grown stale at that point in many ways.
It reactivated fans who had become disinterested after several installments and paid homage to Call of Duty classics like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare while still feeling novel and contemporary. Modern Warfare, however, was more than just a video game.
Furthermore, the mega-popular Call of Duty: Warzone, which had over 100 million players after its first year, also started there.
Because Modern Warfare and Warzone share a progression system, players are still having fun with it in 2022.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (30 Million Copies)
Didn’t The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt appear out of nowhere? Although The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, its predecessor, was good, few people anticipated it would become as popular as its predecessor.
It had a charming open world, engaging characters, and a great gameplay loop that made it difficult to put down.
Even Witcher 3 mods exist today that can improve gameplay. Even more engaging than the main quest, the side missions left a lasting impression. Therefore, it is no surprise that, as of April 2020, it had sold over 28 million units.
To reach as many people as possible, it debuted on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and most recently, the Nintendo Switch. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
3. Diablo III (30 Million Copies)
In August 2015, the combined sales of Diablo III and its Reaper of Souls expansion exceeded 30 million, breaking previous sales records after just three years.
Also, Since then, Blizzard has ported the game to the Nintendo Switch, but sales data for that system have yet to be made public. Given the pace of sales from 2012 to 2015, Diablo III has probably sold many more copies.
Although it’s difficult to say where it stands, the most recent report indicates that the game has sold more than 30 million copies.
If you enjoyed this one, keep an eye out for the upcoming release of Diablo 4. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (30 Million Copies)
Similar to Diablo III, it’s difficult to estimate the number of copies sold for Skyrim, especially given the game’s numerous re-releases and re-masters. Nonetheless, it is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2016, Todd Howard, the director of Bethesda Game Studios, stated that the game had sold more than 30 million copies. That figure will probably be much higher by 2022.
Howard claimed in the same interview that the typical player devotes more than 150 hours to the game. Unfortunately, the report was released before Skyrim’s VR release and the Nintendo Switch port.
Not to mention the Alexa version of Skyrim. Look at these Skyrim tips for helpful information if you’re starting. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (30.32 Million Copies)
The first single-platform game on our list is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, surpassing Diablo III and Skyrim by a few hundred thousand copies.
Nintendo reports that between November 11, 2009, and September 30, 2019, it sold 30.28 million copies.
Furthermore, it sells the most standalone games for the Wii, followed by Super Smash Bros. Also, brawl and Super Mario Galaxy.
Due to the limited-edition red Wii console that it came with, commemorating Nintendo’s 25th anniversary, New Super Mario Bros. Wii outsold those other games in terms of sales.
6. New Super Mario Bros. (30.8 Million Copies)
With almost 31 million sales, New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS from 2006 is the platform’s all-time best-selling title.
It surpasses Mario Kart DS and all three Nintendogs games, each of which sold about 24 million copies, becoming the most popular game.
Furthermore, New Super Mario Bros. was the first game in a series that has since continued, returning to the side-scrolling, 2D platforming of the original games.
It was sold with a Nintendo DS, just like the other items on this list, which accounted for a sizable portion of sales. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
7. Wii Sports Resort (33.14 Million Copies)
The well-liked Wii Sports demo disc with every Wii console was expanded with Wii Sports Resort. Because the original Wii controller had tracking issues, Nintendo updated it in 2009.
Also, the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which connects to the Nunchuck port on the Wii controller, is how you delivered the update.
The high sales volume is Nintendo’s deft bundling of games and accessories, which we’ll see with future releases.
Wii Sports Resort was one of the best Wii games ever, and players who wanted the Wii MotionPlus could purchase it free of charge when purchased as part of the bundle with Wii Sports Resort.
7. Terraria (35 Million Copies)
The action-adventure sandbox Terraria has received a ton of support since its 2011 release, which has resulted in millions of copies being sold worldwide.
It sold over 35 million copies as of March 2021, making it one of the best-selling games ever.
At least they sold 14 million copies on PC, which accounts for a significant portion of its sales. Playing on the PC is worthwhile because you can incorporate Terraria mods into the gameplay.
Re-Logic, the game’s creator, just published Journey’s End, the game’s final expansion, and it now has plans to start developing something new. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
8. Mario Kart Wii (37.38 Million Copies)
When the Wii was introduced in 2006, it became an instant hit and swept the globe. The Wii became one of the all-bestselling time’s gaming consoles.
Its motion controls, which helped make gaming a physical experience, were the main factor in its success.
By transforming the Wii remote into a steering wheel, Nintendo used these motion controls to revolutionize their well-known Mario Kart series.
The Wii controller can now be inserted into a plastic steering wheel, giving players more control and the impression that they are playing the game.
This is the best steering wheel accessory yet. According to Nintendo, Mario Kart Wii has reportedly sold over 37 million copies.
9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (37.62 Million Copies)
The unofficial start of the dreadful COVID-19 pandemic in many parts of the world occurred in March 2020, making that month historic.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a game that transports players to a stunning tropical island to live their best life, also made its debut this month.
In many ways, the pandemic contributed to the popularity of this game because it left most people idle at home.
This resulted in selling tens of millions of copies quickly, drawing in players who don’t usually play video games.
Everyone was participating in it online, sharing their islands. The fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game to date, over 37 million copies of New Horizons have been sold as of this writing. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
10. Pac-Man (42.07 Million Copies)
The original Pac-Man arcade game was one of the few that took a while to reach critical and commercial success.
The 1980 release of that arcade game was followed by a swift 1982 transition to the Atari 2600. Since then, it has appeared on many consoles before the NES.
It was obvious that it would be a bestseller given the abundance of sales opportunities, especially with the addition of computer and mobile versions.
According to Digital Trends, arcade cabinets, console versions, computer versions, and mobile phone versions are among the 42.07 million sold units.
With over 30 million sales coming from mobile phone users, Pac-Man has a good chance of continuing to generate income as new generations learn about the maze game. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
11. Red Dead Redemption 2 (43 Million Copies)
Rockstar’s most ambitious game to date is Red Dead Redemption 2, which features one of the best living, breathing open worlds we’ve ever seen. You’ll find a likable cast of characters with clear-cut and plausible motivations.
The real brilliance, however, lies in the details; boy, are there many of them. The animations and responses of other NPCs are fully realized, as is how the game’s protagonist, Arthur Morgan, adapts to his surroundings. Although the game is deliberate and slow and requires patience, players still buy it.
Furthermore, its recent sales record of over 43 million copies is incredibly impressive, as we recently learned. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
13. Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus (43.8 Million Copies)
When the Nintendo Wii was one of the top-selling gaming consoles, the Wii Fit was a huge hit. It took the concept of playing a game and added the benefit of being an exercise tool.
When their children weren’t playing video games, it gave parents something to do. For this reason, it may have sold 43.8 million copies overall, including the Plus version.
In 2022, Nintendo reported that the Wii Fit had sold 22.67 million units, closely followed by the Wii Fit Plus with 21.13 million.
14. Pokémon Gen. 1 (47.52 Million Copies)
Nearly 20% of Pokémon’s game 275 million or so sales come from the Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green games from the first generation.
The first generation of Pokémon attracted close to 50 million players when Red, Green, and Yellow, along with the American releases of Red, Blue, and Yellow, were all included.
The Game Boy cartridge release was responsible for those sales (around 46 million). Also, they sold more than half of the remaining 1.5 million via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console to American customers. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
15. Overwatch (50 Million Copies)
Blizzard released Overwatch in 2016 and quickly rose to the sales charts. It attracted a sizable fan base that only grew when the sequel appeared, thanks to the fact that it was available on all gaming systems and had virtually endless gameplay action.
Because of the success of the first film, a sequel was expected, according to Bloomberg. Since its initial release, the original has sold over 50 million copies.
After all, is said and done, there should be many satisfied employees at Blizzard if the new version that gamers will soon be able to play can even come close to that success.
With so many new games released since then, it will be difficult to convince players to pick up the game once more.
16. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (51.8 Million Copies)
With just over 8 million units sold, Mario Kart 8 did poorly compared to the best-selling games of all time.
Sadly, the lower-than-average numbers were probably due to a lack of Wii U sales, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Nintendo Switch port, has sold an astounding 51.8 million copies.
This is a pattern seen in other Wii U and Switch first-party games. For instance, you sold 5.79 million copies of the Wii U version of New Super Mario Bros.
Despite being released nine years later, the Switch port of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe has already outsold the Wii U version in sales.
For advice and tricks, you can read our beginner’s guide or go to the page where all of the shortcuts for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are located.
16. Super Mario Bros. (58 Million Copies)
Super Mario Bros. debuted on the NES in the early days of home gaming and has since been ported to countless other platforms.
The game succeeded despite the NES market being much smaller than today, selling over 40 million copies.
Releases for the Wii Virtual Console, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance accounted for the remaining 8 million sales.
The 48 million only considers the game’s physical and digital sales. The number of people who have played Super Mario Bros. is probably much higher.
Furthermore, in 2018, the game and several other NES games were released for Nintendo Switch Online, allowing users of the company’s most recent console to relive their youth. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
17. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (75 Million Copies)
The game that made the battle royale subgenre popular, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, sold over 75 million copies as of 2021.
The sales total includes PC and Xbox One sales; the latter consists of a console bundle. The figures for PUBG’s player base are significantly higher than 75 million.
PUBG Corp. stated that the game has a player base of over 400 million in announcing the same sale. PUBG is a free mobile device download with about 350 million active users. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
18. Wii Sports (82.9 Million Copies)
A little bit of a cheat entry is Wii Sports. Even though players didn’t want a copy, the game “sold” as many Wii consoles as the Wii because it came bundled with every one of them.
Also, Wii Sports sold more than 82 million units, continuing Nintendo’s practice of leveraging one product’s sales from another’s success.
Even though the Wii has sold over 100 million units, the Wii Mini is probably responsible for the last 20 million.
The Wii Mini didn’t come with a pack-in game when it was first released, but it came with a copy of Mario Kart Wii.
19. Grand Theft Auto V (169 million copies)
Grand Theft Auto offers the ideal balance of action, combat, open-world exploration, and narrative for many players.
It is the epitome of a great game, as evidenced by the franchises’ staggering sales figures. Also, the best video game sequels of all time include GTA III, Vice City, and GTA IV, all of which have received high praise.
But GTA V has outsold them all and is still selling copies today. The game has reportedly sold over 150 million copies as of August 2021. This is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
20. Minecraft (238 Million Copies)
The sales of Minecraft, like Tetris, which we’ll discuss next, could be clearer. The number is high. That much is certain. Over 200 million people have played the game between console, mobile, and PC sales.
With the free-to-play mobile game included, the player base of Minecraft is close to 500 million.
When it first came out in May 2009, players could download Minecraft without paying anything. But as a pre-ordered game, Minecraft became profitable in months.
However, Xbox subscribers can still download Minecraft without paying for a subscription. Since Minecraft is one of the best Xbox Game Pass games, it is worthwhile to do. It is one of the bestselling video games of all time.
21. Tetris (425 million+ Copies)
Tetris sales are a moving target that is challenging to monitor. The game’s physical copies have sold close to 70 million (35 million with the Game Boy release).
But the Tetris mobile game quickly takes the lead when we look at the paid downloads. Tetris’ mobile app has received 425 million paid downloads, according to a 2014 interview with VentureBeat.
Remember that there are free Tetris games available as well. Therefore, those 425 million downloads are only a tiny portion of all Tetris downloads.
The last point is that Tetris has kept up, despite all these numbers being quite dated. Tetris is the most popular game of all time by any measure.
