Video games are a pretty darn profitable industry. As it turns out, a lot of people are willing to pay a lot of money to press buttons and receive dopamine in return. But only a select few button-pressing facilitators can claim to have made the most money. And an even more select few can claim to actually be good.
High sales don’t always translate into high quality. That’s not a secret — there’s a reason the fine folks at the British Film Institute don’t factor box office take into the Sight & Sound poll (I like Avengers: Endgame, but it’s not standing side-by-side with 2001: A Space Odyssey). Still, the Top 10 best-selling games in history have turned a lot of copies, and there’s got to be some reason they connect with so many players.
So let’s look at that Top 10 list and see which of these games are worth playing, and which are collecting dust on many millions of shelves. Before we get started, I’d like to clarify — there are a lot of different metrics by which one can measure the “best-selling games of all time,” but for the purposes of this ranking, we’ll be looking at various sources to create the most comprehensive list we humanly can.
10. Overwatch
Per Bloomberg, Blizzard Entertainment’s hero shooter Overwatch sold somewhere around 50 million units during its time on the market. That means that it has slipped from seventh to tenth on the list given some games that have now overtaken it.
If you’ve never taken a dive into this world, that ship has sailed. You can no longer play Overwatch.
It might be a little higher on this list if it was still playable. Unfortunately, it’s been replaced by a free-to-play sequel, Overwatch 2. While the second game isn’t dramatically different from the first, most of the changes made to the formula have made the game less entertaining. Pay-to-win battle pass progression, heroes locked behind heavy grinding, a team comp overhaul that feels more like a downgrade, making Overwatch 2, in its current state, less than pleasant.
But the legacy will live on through its younger counterpart, as it looks to remain on this list for a little while longer, even though Human Fall Flat is nipping at its heels. This latter mention is still available for purchase, so it’s only a matter of time before the final overtake happens and Overwatch fades from out list forever.
9. Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros somehow feels like the game that started it all. Just about every gamer has fond early memories of this title, and it shows with well over 50 million copies sold, estimated to be around 58 million.
Despite its advancing age, Super Mario Bros still feels all too relevant and still features in pop culture on the regular. However, it has slipped a spot in this list’s latest update, falling to Terraria, which is up next.
When a game has been so foundational to a genre, going back to it can feel like visiting a museum — it’s interesting, sure, but there’s other, more fun stuff you could do. That’s not the case with Super Mario Bros. The game may have laid the groundwork for 2D platformers to come, but it also mastered its own mechanics, with level layouts that are still fun and clever nearly 40 years later.
8. Terraria
I used to be a huge Minecraft fan (is that subtle foreshadowing?) — and Terraria always felt to me like a light version of Minecraft, where I was having plenty of fun. Hence, I never really got into it, but I was pretty much alone in that, apparently.
This game’s enjoyed a flurry of sales in the last couple of years to rocket into the top 10 best-selling games, with a whopping 58.7 million copies moved. This is an outstanding achievement that kind of blew my mind while I was researching this list.
Perhaps the core reason for its success is the sandbox nature of the title. In Terarria, you’re not limited by anything, you can right ahead and explore wherever you want. You can also build, craft, and a whole lot more.
See why I thought back then that it was just a lite version of Minecraft?
Another contributor to this game is the studio itself, which has showered this game with significant updates throughout the years, keeping players playing and promoting their game by word-of-mouth.
I would question its placement here myself, but given that it’s a platformer (of sorts) just like Super Mario Bros, I guess it makes sense.
7. Red Dead Redemption 2
Despite its age, Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. Often times I’d completely forget about quests of any sort and just ride out on my horse and go fishing, hunting, or even just sight-seeing. It truly is a work of art.
It also just so happens to fall in seventh on our list, having sold 67 million copies since release.
Red Dead Redemption 2 can be slow, monotonous, and long, even by AAA game standards. But that meditative quiet is in service of one of the best narratives in high-budget gaming history. Red Dead Redemption 2 is ponderous and quiet, which has left it saddled with the descriptor of “boring” by folks who prefer their action a little hotter and heavier. Regardless, it’s an uncommonly thoughtful game in a field often dominated by bright lights and flashing colors.
Apart from the amazing story, there’s also the allure of Red Dead Online, which gives you the opportunity to join a possie and navigate the Wild West with your friends while fighting off other possies. You could also try to befriend them, but given the hours I’ve got in this game I wouldn’t recommend it unless you enjoy being gunned down on the regular.
You could always just chill out in the swamps and hunt alligators, the choice is yours, and the freedom is one of the many things that make this game amazing.
6. Mario Kart 8
Nintendo’s financial reports put Mario Kart 8, across its two editions, at over 72 million units sold, making it the sixth highest-selling game of all time. It seems pretty staggering that a Wii U game, of all things, could climb so high in the rankings, but I guess that’s the power of the Nintendo Switch port.
The first thought that comes to mind upon discovering these figures is… “boy, that’s a lot of ruined friendships.”
Mario Kart is a competitive racer and while it can be fun, there are certainly many fights to be had. Luckily we’re adults now and we can all handle it, right?
Right?
5. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
According to The Verge, PUBG sold about 75 million units before going free-to-play, making it the fifth best-selling game ever. There’s a good reason for that: when it came out, PUBG was a bit of a revelation. There had been battle royale mods and modes for various other games before, but a game designed from the ground up with 100-person death matches in mind was an uncommon sight. And PUBG was a solid first foray into a budding genre.
In 2024, you can’t toss a twig without hitting a battle royale. They aren’t all as good as PUBG, but, well, free-to-play PUBG isn’t quite as good as 2017 PUBG either. If you really want to play a battle royale game, you’re pretty spoiled for choice, and while PUBG isn’t the worst option, it is a bit stale.
What’s impressive is that PUBG has managed to hold on to its spot in this latest update, even without being eligible to have more copies sold. However, given the impressive speed at which Mario Kart 8 is selling, I don’t think it has long left.
4. Wii Sports
Wii Sports was bundled with the Nintendo Wii at launch in all territories except Japan, which certainly helped its incredible Nintendo-reported 82.9 million unit sales. That figure makes it the fourth highest-selling game of all time. Honestly, though, I have a feeling that even without the pack-in numbers, Wii Sports could’ve made this list.
There’s simply no better proof-of-concept for the Wii than Wii Sports. Every included sport demonstrates a different use for the Wiimote, and while no other game really found the same level of versatility in the device, Wii Sports was a shining reminder of what motion controls could be. It was the perfect pack-in game, yes, but it was also an excellent game in its own right.
I think a big contributing factor to this success was likely that we could stay indoors and still exercise. No going to the gym, no leaving the house, you know — the kind of things we gamers don’t like to do.
3. Grand Theft Auto V
Publisher Take-Two Interactive says Grand Theft Auto V has sold more than 205 million copies as of September 2022. That’s a pretty hefty figure, one that makes it the third-highest seller in the medium. To be completely fair, though, it’s not like GTA fans are spoiled for choice. There hasn’t been a fully new GTA game in nearly a decade, and Rockstar just keeps porting GTA V.
The game is solid! It’s a Grand Theft Auto game. It’s a pretty incremental series, and the incremental improvements made in V are good. The writing is decent (if a little cynical for my taste), the open world is fairly compelling, and the primal joy of ramming cars into civilians has remained potent for many years. But, well… it’s not really special at this point. Once again, we’ve seen an awful lot of great open-world games in the last nine years, and GTA V is getting a little long in the tooth.
The main thing is, the GTA VI hype machine pretty much roared into life the moment players made that final, fateful decision to conclude the storyline of GTA V. Sure, we had GTA Online to tide us over for a good long bit, but you can bet that tens of millions of players are eagerly awaiting this latest entry into this long-running series.
We’re very likely to see VI on this list at some point in the future.
2. Minecraft
The first time I played Minecraft, I probably wouldn’t have guessed that it was fated to become the second highest-selling game of all time. And yet, this unassuming survival sandbox turned proto-Metaverse has sold a staggering 300 million units.
In some ways, calling Minecraft one video game is a little unfair. In addition to having nearly two dozen editions across different platforms, it’s also more of a host for games than anything else. The single-player survival mode is still a lot of fun, and creative mode is a good way to bang out some architectural concepts, but multiplayer servers and mods are where the real party is at.
There are so many different things that can be done with the foundations of Minecraft, and that adaptability is the game’s greatest strength.
Type the name of your favorite series into a Minecraft mod website, and you’ll likely find something. The same goes for movie worlds, and other popular game franchises — you name it, it’s probably there.
I haven’t played in a fair while, but back when I did, Pixelmon was making its way to fame and there was a Walking Dead mod where you could meet the cast and have some fun with each one’s weapon of choice. Just one example of the vast array of possibilities.
1. Tetris
Sometimes bright lights and flashing colors are good. Quickly, throw a stick somewhere in your room. Good money says you just hit a copy of Tetris. According to The Tetris Company, somewhere in the area of 520 million copies of Tetris have been sold, making it the highest-selling video game in history. It might also be the single best video game in history if block puzzles are your criteria, I guess.
Tetris is one of those concepts that just works. Trying to fit things together in a tight space is satisfying on a primal level, and Tetris is a masterful piece of design work. It’s almost silly to praise Tetris. Because everyone already knows it’s great. Because everyone has already bought it.
Published: Dec 2, 2024 07:49 am