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List of best-selling video games

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Pictured left to right: Markus Persson and Alexey Pajitnov, creators of Minecraft and Tetris, respectively. Critics have debated which of these games should be classified as the best-selling video game, mainly due to definitional disputes surrounding Tetris.[1][2][3]

This is a list of the best-selling video games worldwide, ranked up to 50th place by reported software unit sales. The game considered to be the best-selling video game to date is contested among reliable sources. Sources are split as to whether the title should belong to Tetris, a 1988 multi-platform puzzle video game created by Alexey Pajitnov, or to Minecraft, a 2011 multi-platform sandbox game created by Markus Persson and developed by Mojang Studios. Sources such as Forbes, Encyclopedia Brittanica, and IGN consider Tetris to be the best-selling video game by combining the sales of all of its different versions, totaling 520 million as of 2025.[4][5][6][7] Other sources, however, such as the BBC, Guinness World Records, and GamesRadar, consider the best-selling video game to be Minecraft, which has sold 350 million copies as of 2025,[8] rejecting the aggregation of each Tetris release.[2][3][9] The closest competitor to either is Grand Theft Auto V, which has sold over 220 million copies.[10] The best-selling single-platform game is Wii Sports, with nearly 83 million sales for the Wii console.[a]

The 1998 game Snake is estimated to have shipped on over 400 million devices,[11] 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,[12] is deemed contentious due to Howard's history of making exaggerated statements about his games for promotional purposes.[13]

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.[14] Likewise, expansion packs are not combined with the base game to avoid inflating sales figures. Additionally, titles with unique release structures are classified based on their specific publishing context. 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.[15][16] Paid bundled titles are also included in this list; their sales often benefit from being packaged with other products, typically at a discounted price.[17]

The listed developers and publishers correspond to each game's original release, and release years refer only to the first full public launch, excluding any pre-release stages. Rankings serve solely for numbering purposes and are not meant to be precise, reflecting the list's limited scope because there is no credible, comprehensive sales-tracking source for the video game industry,[18] unlike for films, which have box office tracking sites such as Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Tied ranks are resolved using the standard competition ranking method, in which entries with equal figures share the same rank and following ranks are increased based on the number of tied entries.

Overview of best-selling video games
Rank Title Sales
(millions) 		Series Platform(s) Release
year 		Developer(s) Publisher(s) Ref.
1 Minecraft 350 Minecraft Multi-platform 2011[b] Mojang Studios Mojang Studios [8]
2 Grand Theft Auto V 220 Grand Theft Auto Multi-platform 2013 Rockstar North Rockstar Games [10]
3 Wii Sports[a] 82.9 Wii Wii 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [23]
4 Red Dead Redemption 2 79 Red Dead Multi-platform 2018 Rockstar Games Rockstar Games [10]
5 Mario Kart 8 / Deluxe 78.02 Mario Kart Wii U / Switch 2014 Nintendo EAD / Nintendo EPD (Deluxe) Nintendo [c]
6 PUBG: Battlegrounds 75 PUBG Universe Multi-platform 2017 PUBG Studios Krafton [26]
7 Terraria 64 None Multi-platform 2011 Re-Logic Re-Logic / 505 Games [27]
8 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 60 The Witcher Multi-platform 2015 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [27]
9 Super Mario Bros.[d] 58 Super Mario Multi-platform 1985 Nintendo R&D4 Nintendo [28]
10 Human: Fall Flat 55 None Multi-platform 2016 No Brakes Games Curve Digital [29]
11 Overwatch 50 Overwatch Multi-platform 2016 Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment [30]
The Sims 50 The Sims Multi-platform 2000 Maxis Electronic Arts [31]
13 Animal Crossing: New Horizons 48.62 Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch 2020 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [25]
14 Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow 47.44 Pokémon Multi-platform 1996 Game Freak Nintendo [e]
15 Wii Fit / Plus[f] 43.8 Wii Wii 2007 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [g]
16 Call of Duty: Black Ops III 43 Call of Duty Multi-platform 2015 Treyarch Activision [35]
17 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 41 Call of Duty Multi-platform 2019 Infinity Ward Activision [35]
Stardew Valley 41 None Multi-platform 2016 ConcernedApe Chucklefish / ConcernedApe [36]
19 Payday 2 40 Payday Multi-platform 2013 Overkill Software 505 Games [37]
Sonic the Hedgehog[h] 40 Sonic the Hedgehog Multi-platform 1991 Sonic Team Sega [38]
21 Mario Kart Wii[i] 37.38 Mario Kart Wii 2008 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [23]
22 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 36.93 Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Switch 2018 Bandai Namco Studios / Sora Ltd. Nintendo [25]
23 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 35.04 The Legend of Zelda Multi-platform 2017 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [j]
24 Tetris (Game Boy)[k] 35 Tetris Game Boy 1989 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo [40]
Cyberpunk 2077 35 Cyberpunk Multi-platform 2020 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [41]
26 Hogwarts Legacy 34 Wizarding World Multi-platform 2023 Avalanche Software Warner Bros. Games [42]
27 Wii Sports Resort[l] 33.14 Wii Wii 2009 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [23]
28 New Super Mario Bros. 30.8 Super Mario Nintendo DS 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [43]
29 New Super Mario Bros. Wii 30.32 Super Mario Wii 2009 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [23]
30 Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal 30.12 Pokémon Game Boy Color 1999 Game Freak Nintendo [m]
31 Elden Ring 30 Elden Ring Multi-platform 2022 FromSoftware Bandai Namco [46]
Borderlands 2 30 Borderlands Multi-platform 2012 Gearbox Software 2K Games [47]
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War 30 Call of Duty Multi-platform 2020 Treyarch / Raven Software Activision [35]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 30 Grand Theft Auto Multi-platform 2004 Rockstar North Rockstar Games [48]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 30 The Elder Scrolls Multi-platform 2011 Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks [49]
36 Super Mario Odyssey 29.84 Super Mario Nintendo Switch 2017 Nintendo EPD Nintendo [25]
37 Monster Hunter: World 29.1 Monster Hunter Multi-platform 2018 Capcom Capcom [n]
38 Duck Hunt[o] 28.3 None Famicom / NES 1984 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo [51]
39 Wii Play[p] 28.02 Wii Wii 2006 Nintendo EAD Nintendo [23]
40 Black Myth: Wukong 28 Black Myth Multi-platform 2024 Game Science Game Science [52]
41 Pokémon Scarlet / Violet 27.61 Pokémon Nintendo Switch 2022 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [25]
42 Pokémon Sword / Shield 26.96 Pokémon Nintendo Switch 2019 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [25]
43 The Last of Us / Remastered 26.6 The Last of Us PS3 / PS4 2013 Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment [q]
44 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 26.5 Call of Duty Multi-platform 2011 Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Activision [55]
45 Call of Duty: Black Ops 26.2 Call of Duty Multi-platform 2010 Treyarch Activision [55]
46 Pokémon Sun / Moon / Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon 25.59 Pokémon Nintendo 3DS 2016 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [r]
47 Garry's Mod 25.56 None PC 2006 Facepunch Studios Valve [57]
48 Pokémon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum 25.5 Pokémon Nintendo DS 2006 Game Freak Nintendo / The Pokémon Company [s]
49 Phasmophobia 25 None Multi-platform TBA[t] Kinetic Games Kinetic Games [60]
Grand Theft Auto IV 25 Grand Theft Auto Multi-platform 2008 Rockstar North Rockstar Games [61]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Wii Sports was bundled with the Wii console in all regions except Japan.[21] Nintendo includes those bundles in the overall sales figure.[22]
  2. ^ Although Minecraft was first publicly available on May 17, 2009,[19] 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.[20]
  3. ^ Mario Kart 8 sold 8.46 million units[24] and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 69.56 million units.[25]
  4. ^ The extensive bundling of Super Mario Bros. with the Nintendo Entertainment System had a major impact on sales.
  5. ^ Red and Blue versions sold 31.3 million units,[32] the Yellow version sold 14.64 million units on Game Boy,[33][32] and all versions sold a combined 1.5 million units on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.[34]
  6. ^ Wii Fit was dependent on the Wii Balance Board accessory, which had to be purchased with it.
  7. ^ Wii Fit sold 22.67 million units and Wii Fit Plus sold 21.13 million units.[23]
  8. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog was highly bundled with the Sega Genesis console.
  9. ^ Mario Kart Wii had a unique accessory, the Wii Wheel, which came along with it.
  10. ^ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 33.34 million units on Nintendo Switch,[25] and 1.70 million units on Wii U.[39]
  11. ^ This Tetris version's sales resulted from a higher degree of bundling with the Game Boy console.[40]
  12. ^ Wii Sports Resort required the Wii MotionPlus accessory to function and was packed with it.
  13. ^ Gold and Silver versions sold 23.73 million units[44] and the Crystal version sold 6.39 million units.[45]
  14. ^ Monster Hunter: World sold 21.8 million units, while the Iceborne Master Edition—which includes both the base game and its expansion pack, Iceborne—helped total sales reach 29.1 million units.[50]
  15. ^ Duck Hunt required the NES Zapper accessory for its function and was paired with it.
  16. ^ Wii Play was bundled with and operated using the Wii Remote accessory.
  17. ^ The Last of Us sold 8.4 million units[53] and The Last of Us Remastered sold 18.2 million units, respectively.[54]
  18. ^ Sun and Moon sold 16.33 million units and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon sold 9.26 million units.[56]
  19. ^ Diamond and Pearl sold 17.6 million units and Platinum sold 7.9 million units.[32]
  20. ^ Phasmophobia entered Early Access in September 2020 on PC through Steam, and 2024 on console. As of November 2025, Phasmophobia remains in Early Access.[58][59]

References

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