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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the list of best-selling video games say to the new game? "You're a high score.

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Alexey Pajitnov (left) and Markus Persson (right), creators of Tetris and Minecraft, 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. Reliable sources are split as to whether the title of best-selling video game 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. Some sources consider Tetris to be the best-selling video game by combining the sales of all of its different versions, totaling 520 million as of 2022, while others consider the best-selling video game to be Minecraft, which has sold 400 million copies as of 2026, rejecting the aggregation of each Tetris release.[a] The closest competitor to either is Grand Theft Auto V, which has sold 230 million copies. The best-selling single-platform game is Wii Sports, with nearly 83 million sales for the Wii console.[b]

Criteria

The 1998 game Snake is estimated to have shipped on over 400 million devices,[11] but is not listed as it was preinstalled and freely accessible on Nokia mobile phones.

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.[12] 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.[13][14] Paid bundled titles are also included in this list; their sales often benefit from being packaged with other products, typically at a discounted price.[15]

List of best-selling games

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 prerelease 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,[16] 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.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Tetris is considered the best-selling video game by Encyclopædia Britannica,[4] Forbes,[5] GameSpot,[6] IGN,[7] and Kotaku.[8]
    Minecraft is considered the best-selling video game by the BBC,[2] GamesRadar+,[9] Gamereactor,[10] and Guinness World Records.[3]
    Due to the split among reliable sources, both games are listed in the number-one spot on this list.
  2. 1 2 Wii Sports was bundled with the Wii console in all regions except Japan.[22] Nintendo includes those bundles in the overall sales figure.[23]
  3. ↑ The release date of the first Tetris games sold commercially. Earlier games were given out for free.
  4. ↑ Although Minecraft was first publicly available on May 17, 2009,[18] 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.[19]
  5. ↑ Mario Kart 8 sold 8.46 million units[25] and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 71.53 million units.[26]
  6. ↑ Red and Blue versions sold 31.3 million units,[36] the Yellow version sold 14.64 million units on Game Boy,[37][36] and all versions sold a combined 1.5 million units on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.[38]
  7. ↑ Wii Fit sold 22.67 million units and Wii Fit Plus sold 21.13 million units.[24]
  8. ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 34.06 million units on Nintendo Switch,[26] and 1.70 million units on Wii U.[44]
  9. ↑ Gold and Silver versions sold 23.73 million units[46] and the Crystal version sold 6.39 million units.[47]
  10. ↑ Monster Hunter: World includes sales from its Iceborne Master Edition, which contains both the base game and its expansion pack, Iceborne.[48]
  11. ↑ Sun and Moon sold 16.34 million units and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon sold 9.28 million units.[55]
  12. ↑ Diamond and Pearl sold 17.6 million units and Platinum sold 7.9 million units.[36]
  13. ↑ Phasmophobia entered early access in September 2020 on PC through Steam, with console versions releasing in early access in 2024. As of 2026, the game remains in early access.[58]

References

  1. ↑ Macgregor, Jody (May 19, 2019). "Minecraft has sold 176 million copies, may be the best-selling game ever". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 16, 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Gerken, Tom (October 16, 2023). "Minecraft becomes first video game to hit 300 m sales". BBC. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Best-selling videogame". Guinness World Records. April 2025. Archived from the original on January 15, 2025. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Minecraft | Popularity, Game Modes, & Creator". Encyclopedia Britannica. February 16, 2026. Archived from the original on October 4, 2025. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ Nguyen, Britney (October 16, 2023). "Minecraft Just Surpassed 300 Million Sales—Here's The Only Video Game Still Beating It". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (May 22, 2026). "Top 10 Best-Selling Video Games Of All Time". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 9, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ Sirani, Jordan (February 18, 2025). "The 10 Best-Selling Video Games of All Time". IGN. Archived from the original on July 24, 2025. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (May 21, 2026). "Judas And New BioShock Still MIA As Red Dead Redemption 2 Has Its Best Year Since Launch". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 21, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ Fillari, Alessandro (October 16, 2023). "Minecraft is now the first video game to sell over 300 million copies". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 12, 2026. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ Mäki, Jonas (May 22, 2026). "Red Dead Redemption 2 is now the third best selling video game of all-time". Gamereactor. Archived from the original on May 25, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ Wright, Chris (March 14, 2016). "A Brief History of Mobile Games: In the beginning, there was Snake". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on June 28, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  12. ↑ Hayton, Phil (January 24, 2020). "Game remakes vs remasters: what's the difference?". TechRadar. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  13. ↑ Kyujilo (October 30, 2023). "34 millions de pirates pour Assassin's Creed IV : Black Flag". Gamekult (in French). Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  14. ↑ Lyons, Ben (November 29, 2023). "Dead by Daylight hits mega 60 million players milestone". Gamereactor. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  15. ↑ Chernyak, Ulyana (November 3, 2014). "The Pros and Cons of the Bundle Promotion". Game Developer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  16. ↑ MacDonald, Keza (April 3, 2024). "Pushing Buttons: When we don't know the true sales figures for consoles, players lose out". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  17. ↑ "About Tetris®". Tetris. Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  18. ↑ Persson, Markus (May 17, 2009). "Minecraft 0.0.11a for public consumption : The Word of Notch". Tumblr. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ Persson, Markus (June 13, 2009). "Pre-orders are open!". The Word of Notch. Tumblr. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  20. ↑ Romano, Nick (June 22, 2026). "Xbox at 25: Gaming giant seeks to level up play and Hollywood adaptations". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 22, 2026. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 "Investor Presentation – August 2026" (PDF). Take-Two Interactive. August 7, 2026. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  22. ↑ Ogawa, Yohei; Randolph Ramsay; Tor Thorsen (February 5, 2008). "Q&A: Nintendo's Satoru Iwata". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  23. ↑ Whitehead, Thomas (May 3, 2022). "Reggie Had To Fight For Wii Sports As A Pack-In, And Miyamoto Wasn't Happy". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "IR Information: Sales Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units – Wii Software". Nintendo. March 31, 2024. Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  25. ↑ "IR Information: Financial Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units – Wii U Software". Nintendo. March 31, 2026. Archived from the original on May 22, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "IR Information: Financial Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units – Nintendo Switch Software". Nintendo. June 30, 2026. Archived from the original on August 6, 2026. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  27. ↑ Peters, Jay (December 9, 2021). "The original PUBG is going free-to-play". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  28. ↑ Franzese, Tomas (May 17, 2026). "Terraria has become one of the best-selling games of all time". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 17, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  29. 1 2 Maas, Jennifer (July 17, 2026). "Fallout 5 in Preproduction, Elder Scrolls 6 Is Bethesda's "Primary Development Focus" Following Xbox Layoffs, Studio Chief Says". Variety. Archived from the original on July 17, 2026. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
  30. ↑ Denzer, TJ (May 28, 2026). "The Witcher 3 has sold more than 65 million copies". Shacknews. Archived from the original on May 28, 2026. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  31. ↑ Jones, Ali (July 10, 2024). "Survival juggernaut Terraria has officially outsold Super Mario Bros – and its devs waited 2 years just to flex its latest sales milestone". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Human Fall Flat Lands On New Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 Version Out Now!". Curve Games. March 19, 2026. Archived from the original on July 22, 2026. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  33. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (February 5, 2010). "The History of The Sims". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 26, 2025. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  34. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (February 3, 2026). "Stardew Valley Turns 10: The Big ConcernedApe Interview". IGN. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  35. ↑ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (April 29, 2022). "Activision's Overwatch 2 Is Redefining the Sequel". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  36. 1 2 3 Duran, Misael (August 3, 2022). "The most popular Pokémon games of all time, ranked by sales". Gamepur. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  37. ↑ Terry, Paul (October 6, 2016). Top 10 of Everything 2017. London, England: Hachette UK. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-600-63374-7. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2016". Nintendo. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  39. 1 2 3 Totilo, Stephen (January 6, 2025). "Call of Duty's massive development budgets revealed: $700 million for Black Ops Cold War". Game File. Archived from the original on January 11, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  40. ↑ Power, Ed (June 23, 2021). "How Sega conquered the video games industry with Sonic the Hedgehog – and then threw it all away". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  41. ↑ Ivan, Tom (June 8, 2023). "Payday 2 is free on Epic Games Store, Guacamelee games offered next week". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  42. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (July 3, 2026). "'A Great Foundation for Our Upcoming Projects in This Universe' — CD Projekt Hails Cyberpunk 2077 as It Hits an Incredible 40 Million Copies Sold". IGN. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
  43. ↑ Romano, Sal (December 17, 2025). "Hogwarts Legacy sales top 40 million". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  44. ↑ 2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2021. ISBN 978-4-902346-43-5.
  45. ↑ "Sales Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units – Nintendo DS Software". Nintendo. March 31, 2024. Archived from the original on July 27, 2025. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  46. ↑ Purslow, Matt (February 1, 2021). "Pokémon Sword & Shield Is the Best Selling Pokémon Since Gold & Silver". IGN. Archived from the original on November 17, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  47. ↑ Michael, Cale (March 22, 2020). "Pokémon Platinum released 11 years ago today in North America". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  48. ↑ McCrae, Scott (June 8, 2026). "Monster Hunter World has sold over 30 million copies, further cementing its lead as Capcom's best-selling game and leaving Wilds in the dust after a year of performance woes". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  49. ↑ Ruiz, Fran (April 8, 2026). "Split Fiction developer Hazelight celebrates 50 million games sales, but it's not its newest game that dominates the pie chart". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 8, 2026. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  50. ↑ Romano, Sal (April 28, 2025). "Elden Ring shipments and digital sales top 30 million". Gematsu. Archived from the original on April 28, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  51. ↑ Welch, Hanuman (April 23, 2013). "1984: Duck Hunt – The Best Selling Video Game Of Every Year Since 1977". Complex. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  52. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (March 16, 2025). "'Journey to the West' Animated Film Trilogy Set at Stars Collective (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  53. ↑ Good, Owen (September 15, 2011). "GTA IV Overtakes San Andreas in Lifetime Sales [Correction]". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  54. 1 2 "Call of Duty: A Short History". IGN. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Sales Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units – Nintendo 3DS Software". Nintendo. March 31, 2026. Archived from the original on July 19, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  56. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 29, 2024). "Garry's Mod Has Sold an Incredible 25.4 Million Copies, Is the Best-Selling PC Exclusive of All-Time". IGN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  57. ↑ Vincent, James (October 7, 2013). "GTA 5 has already beaten GTA 4's lifetime sales". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  58. ↑ "Phasmophobia Early Access console review (PS5, Xbox Series X & S)". TheSixthAxis. October 28, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  59. ↑ Lyons, Ben (July 1, 2025). "Phasmophobia is now a 25 million seller". Gamereactor. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
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