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List of best-selling video games

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This is a list of the best-selling video games worldwide, ranked up to 50th place by verified software unit sales. The best-selling video game to date is Minecraft, a 2011 multi-platform sandbox game released by Mojang. In 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.[a] Three of the most represented video game franchises on this list feature Pokémon, Mario, and Call of Duty.

In certain publications, Tetris is 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] The 1998 game Snake is estimated to have shipped on over 400 million devices,[6] but is not listed as it was pre-installed and freely accessible on Nokia mobile phones. Another sales issue involves The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which game director Todd Howard claims has sold over 60 million copies,[7] can be deemed contentious due to Howard's history of making exaggerated statements about his games.[8]

For this list, standard re-releases, remasters and enhanced versions of games are considered iterative updates to the original, thus their sales are combined. In contrast, remakes generally contain significant deviations from the original and are considered separate products.[9] Likewise, expansion packs are not combined with the base game to avoid inflating sales figures. Other metrics, such as "players" or "installs", typically refer to active users engaging with the game rather than sales, thus are not listed; even for paid games, these metrics could include free trials or other free promotions and cannot reliably be substituted for sales figures.[10][11]

  = Sales largely tied to hardware or accessory bundles.

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 [14]
Grand Theft Auto V 215,000,000 Grand Theft Auto Multi-platform September 17, 2013 Rockstar North Rockstar Games [15]
Wii Sports[a]  82,900,000  Wii Wii November 19, 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [18]
Mario Kart 8 / Deluxe 77,320,000 Mario Kart Wii U / Switch May 29, 2014 Nintendo EAD / Nintendo EPD (Deluxe) Nintendo [d]
Red Dead Redemption 2 77,000,000 Red Dead Multi-platform October 26, 2018 Rockstar Games Rockstar Games [21]
PUBG: Battlegrounds 75,000,000 PUBG Universe Multi-platform December 20, 2017 PUBG Studios Krafton [22]
The Oregon Trail[e] 65,000,000 The Oregon Trail Multi-platform December 3, 1971 Don Rawitsch
Bill Heinemann
Paul Dillenberger 		MECC [24]
Terraria 64,000,000 None Multi-platform May 16, 2011 Re-Logic Re-Logic / 505 Games [25]
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 60,000,000 The Witcher Multi-platform May 19, 2015 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [25]
Super Mario Bros.  58,000,000  Super Mario Multi-platform September 13, 1985 Nintendo R&D4 Nintendo [26]
Human: Fall Flat 55,000,000 None Multi-platform July 22, 2016 No Brakes Games Curve Digital [27]
Overwatch 50,000,000 Overwatch Multi-platform May 24, 2016 Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment [28]
The Sims The Sims Multi-platform February 4, 2000 Maxis Electronic Arts [29]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 48,190,000 Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch March 20, 2020 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [20]
Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow 47,440,000 Pokémon Multi-platform February 27, 1996 Game Freak Nintendo [f]
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 [33]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 41,000,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform October 25, 2019 Infinity Ward Activision [33]
Stardew Valley 41,000,000 None Multi-platform February 26, 2016 ConcernedApe Chucklefish / ConcernedApe [34]
Payday 2 40,000,000 Payday Multi-platform August 13, 2013 Overkill Software 505 Games [35]
Sonic the Hedgehog  40,000,000  Sonic the Hedgehog Multi-platform June 23, 1991 Sonic Team Sega [36]
Mario Kart Wii  37,380,000  Mario Kart Wii April 10, 2008 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [18]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 36,550,000 Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Switch December 7, 2018 Bandai Namco Studios / Sora Ltd. Nintendo [20]
Tetris (Game Boy)  35,000,000  Tetris Game Boy June 14, 1989 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo [37]
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 34,740,000 The Legend of Zelda Wii U / Switch / Switch 2 March 3, 2017 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [h]
Hogwarts Legacy 34,000,000 Wizarding World Multi-platform February 10, 2023 Avalanche Software Warner Bros. Games [39]
Wii Sports Resort  33,140,000  Wii Wii June 25, 2009 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [18]
Call of Duty: Black Ops II 31,000,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 12, 2012 Treyarch Activision [40]
New Super Mario Bros. 30,800,000 Super Mario Nintendo DS May 15, 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [41]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 30,720,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 9, 2010 Treyarch Activision [40]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 30,710,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 8, 2011 Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Activision [40]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii  30,320,000  Super Mario Wii November 11, 2009 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [18]
Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal 30,120,000 Pokémon Game Boy Color November 21, 1999 Game Freak Nintendo [i]
Elden Ring 30,000,000 Elden Ring Multi-platform February 25, 2022 FromSoftware Bandai Namco [44]
Borderlands 2 30,000,000 Borderlands Multi-platform September 18, 2012 Gearbox Software 2K Games [45]
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War 30,000,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 13, 2020 Treyarch / Raven Software Activision [33]
Cyberpunk 2077 30,000,000 Cyberpunk Multi-platform December 10, 2020 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [46]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 30,000,000 Grand Theft Auto Multi-platform October 26, 2004 Rockstar North Rockstar Games [47]
Super Mario Odyssey 29,500,000 Super Mario Nintendo Switch October 27, 2017 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [20]
Call of Duty: Ghosts 28,980,000 Call of Duty Multi-platform November 5, 2013 Infinity Ward Activision [40]
Monster Hunter: World 28,800,000 Monster Hunter Multi-platform January 26, 2018 Capcom Capcom [j]
Duck Hunt  28,300,000  None Famicom / NES April 21, 1984 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo [49]
Wii Play  28,020,000  Wii Wii December 2, 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [18]
Black Myth: Wukong 28,000,000 Black Myth Multi-platform August 20, 2024 Game Science Game Science [50]
Pokémon Scarlet / Violet 27,150,000 Pokémon Nintendo Switch November 18, 2022 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [20]
Pokémon Sword / Shield 26,840,000 Pokémon Nintendo Switch November 15, 2019 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [20]
Super Mario World  26,300,000  Super Mario Multi-platform November 21, 1990 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [k]
Pokémon Sun / Moon / Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon 25,590,000 Pokémon Nintendo 3DS November 18, 2016 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [l]
Garry's Mod 25,560,000 None PC November 29, 2006 Facepunch Studios Valve [53]
Pokémon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum 25,500,000 Pokémon Nintendo DS September 28, 2006 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [m]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Wii Sports was bundled with the Wii console in all regions except Japan.[16] Nintendo includes those bundles in the overall sales figure.[17]
  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,[12] 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.[13]
  4. ^ Mario Kart 8 sold 8.46 million units[19] and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 68.86 million units.[20]
  5. ^ Multiple editions of The Oregon Trail have been released by various developers and publishers, with many simply titled The Oregon Trail. The multiple games in the series are often considered to be iterations on the same title rather than separate games.[23]
  6. ^ Red and Blue versions sold 31.3 million units,[30] the Yellow version sold 14.64 million units on Game Boy,[31][30] and all versions sold a combined 1.5 million units on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.[32]
  7. ^ Wii Fit sold 22.67 million units and Wii Fit Plus sold 21.13 million units.[18]
  8. ^ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 33.04 million units on Nintendo Switch,[20] and 1.70 million units on Wii U.[38]
  9. ^ Gold and Silver versions sold 23.73 million units[42] and the Crystal version sold 6.39 million units.[43]
  10. ^ Monster Hunter: World sold 21.7 million units, and the Iceborne Master Edition, which includes both the base game and its expansion pack, Iceborne, sold 7.1 million units.[48]
  11. ^ Super Mario World sold 20.61 million units on Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[51] Its re-release, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, sold 5.69 million units on Game Boy Advance.[51]
  12. ^ Sun and Moon sold 16.33 million units and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon sold 9.26 million units.[52]
  13. ^ Diamond and Pearl sold 17.6 million units and Platinum sold 7.9 million units.[30]

References

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