As an avid gamer and data analyst who studies industry trends, I often get asked – what games truly dominate by the numbers? In an era where free-to-play models and digital distribution can muddy unit sales tracking, quantifying commercial reach presents challenges. By compiling worldwide lifetime sales data across console, PC and mobile, I set out to definitively rank gaming‘s greatest hits.
Beyond showcasing monumental earnings benchmarks, evaluating top-selling video games also chronicles key innovations that transformed interactive entertainment. The following analysis details the visionary features, franchise evolution and lasting cultural imprints that catapulted these titles into the stratosphere. From pixelated 1980s arcade ports to sprawling open worlds that rival Hollywood blockbusters, let the countdown commence!
Methodology
I aggregated title sales statistics from industry trackers like VGChartz and NPD Group, as well as official figures published in company earnings reports and press releases. For older games where historical data is limited, estimates are formulated based on historical pricing models and market launch details.
Sales numbers compiled for this ranking represent retail unit purchases across all platforms globally since initial release. Free downloads or installs of freemium/free-to-play titles are not counted as they do not directly translate to financial earnings. Modern benchmark franchises like Call of Duty and FIFA may shift to digital-first distribution models in the future, minimizing transparency of actual user figures.
#10 Terraria
Total Sales:
| Platform | Units Sold |
|---|---|
| PC | 12 million |
| Consoles | 25 Million |
| Mobile | 7.5 Million |
| Total | 44.5 Million |
This 2D sandbox platformer released in 2011 for PC, establishing the "craft and survive" genre later popularized by megahit Minecraft. Blending action-adventure combat with deep roleplaying customization and progression, Terraria‘s cardinal draw lies is exploration of intricately complex procedurally-generated worlds brimming with environments, enemies and loot.
Key Innovation Impact: Sandbox platformers prioritized building/crafting gameplay as the primary objective rather than a supplemental mechanic.
Fun Fact: Sold over 200,000 copies across PC/console in its first week, growing to 432,500 units after one month.
#9 Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow
Total Sales: 47.5+ Million Copies Sold
These classic 1996 Game Boy RPG releases anchored the wildly successful multimedia Pokémon franchise still beloved today. The games introduced timeless characters like Pikachu and Charizard while pioneering social features like local wireless battling and trading using link cables.
Cultural Zeitgeist Angle: Pokémon animation and trading cards amplified awareness, becoming defining 1990s nostalgia touchstones and collectibles.
Fun Fact: A rare first edition base set Charizard Pokémon card recently sold for $420,000 at auction in mint condition. Only 121 PSA 10 gem mint copies of this card are thought to exist.
#8 Red Dead Redemption 2
Total Sales:
| Platform | Units Sold |
|---|---|
| PS4 | 17+ Million (As of 2019) |
| Xbox One | 10+ Million (As of 2019) |
| PC | 5+ Million (As of 2022) |
| Total | 50+ Million and Counting! |
This visually resplendent open world Western epic first released in 2018, enthralling critics and consumers with intricately lifelike graphics and an emotional 70+ hour story campaign spanning five fictitious American states. Developed over 8 years with a stratospheric $540 million budget, unprecedented world depth supports over 200 unique animal species to hunt, ambient NPC interactions and dynamically responsive terrain changes over time.
Franchise Sales Context: Red Dead Redemption 2 dwarfed 2010 predecessor sales despite installing base disadvantages as an early last-gen release. Franchise potential remains sky-high.
Key Stat: Fastest selling PS4 + Xbox One game ever – over $725M in worldwide retail sell-through during opening weekend.
#7 Super Mario Bros
Total Sales: 58+ Million Copies Sold
The quintessential sidescrolling platformer that revolutionized game design thanks to Nintendo icon Shigeru Miyamoto, 1985‘s Super Mario Bros. propelled adoption of Nintendo‘s pioneering NES console globally. Alongside iconic characters like Mario, Luigi and Bowser, Miyamoto implemented creative multiplayer concepts plus intelligently tuned difficulty curves to perpetuate accessibility.
Cultural Zeitgeist Angle: Mario the defacto mascot of gaming, starring in endless franchise spinoffs, merchandising and even theme park attractions.
Fun Fact: An ultra-rare "hangtab" copy of Super Mario Bros. sold at auction for $114,000 to an avid collector.
#6 Mario Kart 8/Deluxe
Total Sales:
| Platform | Units Sold |
|---|---|
| Wii U | 8+ Million |
| Nintendo Switch | 55+ Million |
| Total | 60.4+ Million |
Mario Kart 8 originally released in 2014 on Nintendo‘s ill-fated Wii U console, honing trademark kart racing gameplay with anti-gravity tracks, robust vehicle customization and polished multiplayer mayhem. Transitioning to Nintendo Switch in 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundled all premium DLC content to become the console‘s signature multiplayer experience. Thanks to deep rosters, creative course designs and welcoming gameplay, the franchise continues to convert new players 25 years later.
Franchise Sales Significance: Second best-selling racing game franchise ever behind Need for Speed, eclipsing juggernauts like Gran Turismo and Forza Horizon
Cultural Zeitgeist Angle: Local wireless play cementing Mario Kart as the quintessential party game.
#5 PUBG Battlegrounds
Total Sales: 75+ Million Copies Sold
This influential 2017 battle royale shooter thrust the emerging genre into mainstream consciousness, combining large-scale 100 player maps with scavenging mechanics and ever-tightening play zones to create dynamic tension and urgency. Despite many big-budget imitators like Fortnite or Apex Legends, PUBG Mobile reigns as highest-grossing mobile game ever thanks to over $7 billion lifetime player spending.
Franchise Sales Significance: Latest PC/console installment PUBG Battlegrounds 2 retail sales declining sharply, highlighting shift to free-to-play live service model for continued relevance.
Cultural Zeitgeist Angle: Height of PUBG popularity created global moral panic over video game violence addiction given realistic graphics.
#4 Wii Sports
Total Sales: 82.9+ Million Copies Sold*
*Bundled globally with Wii consoles outside Japan hence tied to hardware sales.
The signature 2006 Wii launch game seamlessly demonstrated Nintendo‘s disruptive motion control technology across approachable sports like tennis, golf and bowling. Intuitive gameplay coupled with multiplayer accessibility catalyzed meteoric hardware adoption, sustaining manufacturing shortages for over a year release. Wii Sports single-handedly mainstream gaming applications into fitness and physical therapy via subsequent "exergaming" craze.
Franchise Sales Significance: Wii Sports Resort (33+ Million) and Wii Sports Club (3.5+ Million) demonstrating declining engagement over time as motion controls feel gimmicky to avid gamers.
Key Stat: Wii sales velocity jumped 52% year-over-year driven by Wii Sports pack-in, selling 7 million consoles globally post-launch by end of 2007.
#3 Tetris – 100+ Million Copies Sold
Originally created in 1984 by Russian engineer Alexy Pajitnov, hyper-addictive tile-matching puzzle game Tetris holds the distinction as best-selling single game ever on mobile with over 500 million paid downloads across 400 smartphone models since 2005. On consoles and handhelds, the concept has moved over 100 million retail units through endless ports and variations over 35 years. Easy to learn but extremely challenging to master, Tetris stimulates the brain while testing reflexes, spatial reasoning, and strategic planning skills.
Cultural Zeitgeist Angle: A medical condition named "Tetris Effect" occurs when people become so engrossed that game imagery persists involuntarily long after playing.
Key Innovation Impact: Endless iteration without milestone progression set template for countless puzzle games.
#2 Grand Theft Auto V
Total Sales: 175+ Million Copies Sold
This unparalleled open-world technical masterpiece redefined sandbox freedom starting with 2013 debut across PS3 and Xbox 360, upgrading again to current-gen platforms PlayStation 4, Xbox One and again PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles plus Windows PC. Core GTA hallmarks like dark humor, epic heists and Hollywood-rivaling narratives retain their magnetism almost a decade later, recently crossing $1 billion in lifetime revenue.
Franchise Sales Dominance: GTA V is 2nd best-selling Xbox One game (after Minecraft) with 145+ million units, continuing to chart Billboard‘s weekly Top 20 nearly a full console generation later thanks to persistent payments from GTA Online recurring revenues.
Cultural Zeitgeist Angle: Cutting satire of American excess with unprecedented freedom to behave despicably as an antihero criminal protagonist push moral boundaries.
And finally…the best-selling video game across all categories and platforms:
#1 Minecraft
Total Sales: 238+ Million Copies Sold
The ultimate virtual sandbox unlocking pure creation, Minecraft empowers players to craft structures, items or entire worlds only limited by imagination. Accessible building tools coupled with charming low-fidelity visuals catalyze emergent gameplay opportunities from architecture to agriculture to electrical engineering…without any prescribed objectives beyond survival!
Key Innovation Impact: Massive open world games had finite developer pre-defined narratives – unlocked user creativity became the primary incentive. Community creations fuel millions in YouTube channels.
Cultural Reach: Over 5,000 classrooms globally embrace educational Minecraft spinoffs teaching science, math and coding.
And there you have it friends – the definitive list of the ten highest selling games ever! Which classic franchise did you expect would top the charts? Did any old favorites surprise you with towering sales figures? Let me know in the comments what your personal all-time bestseller list looks like!
