Introduction
Video games have captivated audiences and dominated the entertainment industry since arcade machines and home consoles first emerged in the 1970s and 80s. While today‘s hyper-realistic CGI wonders showcase how far gaming has come technologically, many all-time bestselling video game charts are topped by classic titles that pioneered iconic gameplay concepts, characters, and stories which still resonant today.
Examining the top-performing games in terms of lifetime sales reveals not only the products with mass cultural staying power, but also provides insight into major shifts within the gaming industry itself. Bestselling lists reflect the changing technology used to develop and play games, evolving consumer gameplay tastes and demands over time, and landmark titles that influenced the direction of game design year after year.
The following countdown takes a close look at history’s 10 highest-selling video game titles worldwide since accurate sales tracking began in the mid-80s. Each game summary includes release history, sales figures, commentary on significant design elements, and analysis on the title‘s lasting impact.
#10: Red Dead Redemption 2
Release Date: October 26, 2018
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Developer: Rockstar Studios
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Lifetime Sales: Over 44 million copies
Part sequel and part prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2 reinvented the open-world Western formula its predecessor pioneered back in 2010. Set as a prequel to the original game’s story, RDR 2 delivered on breakthrough next-gen visuals with immense attention to detail recreating frontier towns, plains, forests, and mountain trails spanning five fictitious U.S. states.
Beyond its lauded cinematic storyline, the game shined in its sophisticated interactivity and emergent gameplay allowing for incredible freedom to interact with NPCs and the environment. It perfected the blend of a gripping narrative bolstered by entirely self-directed journeys exploring the sprawling map however the player desires. These open-world mechanics centering on survival and maintaining personalneeds revolutionized player freedom and immersion.
The frontier fantasy remains as alluring as ever, and the series’ loyal fanbase along with massive critical acclaim will ensure Red Dead Redemption remains an iconic franchise and key entertainment property for Rockstar into next decade and beyond.
#9: Mario Kart 8
Release Date: May 29, 2014
Platforms: WiiU, Nintendo Switch
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Lifetime Sales: Over 52 million copies
Innovation and creativity has never been lacking in Nintendo’s beloved Mario Kart racing series, and the Wii U’s Mario Kart 8 took gameplay customization to new heights. Revamped visuals produced the most vibrant, smooth tracks yet seen in franchise history, with enhanced anti-gravity segments adding a dynamic new racing element allowing drivers ride along vertical walls and inverted loops.
The game really shone however thanks to its vastly expanded roster of playable drivers, karts, and unlockable add-ons. Character customization options were practically endless, with the Deluxe Nintendo Switch port adding Splatoon’s Inklings and extending multiplayer support for up to 4-players on a single console. Mario Kart remains Nintendo’s bragging right as pioneer of the mascot racing subgenre, with Mario Kart 8 touting over 50 million total sales to edge out previous franchise top seller Mario Kart Wii.
#8: Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow
Original Release Date: February 27, 1996 (Japan)
International Release Date: September 28, 1998 (North America)
Platform: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Lifetime Sales: Over 47.5 million copies
The Pokémon franchise took the world by storm upon debuting on the Nintendo Game Boy, birthing a new subgenre focused on tactical collection. The paired inaugural releases of Pokémon Red & Blue (alongside Green in Japan) introduced fans globally to catching, battling, and trading Pokémon’s original roster of 151 distinctive monsters. It leveraged the Game Boy Link Cable peripheral to enable trading locally between friends, spurring a cultural phenomenon.
Succeeding “third” enhanced entries Pokémon Yellow along with Western releases kept millions of fans invested in the game through its various multiplayer battle tournaments and events. It sparked the entire lucrative Pokémon media empire spanning anime, films, cards, toys, and apparel. And 25+ years later counting, Game Freak continues expanding both core handheld RPG titles and mobile spin-offs.
#7: Wii Sports
Release Date: November 19, 2006
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Lifetime Sales: Over 82.9 million copies
Packaged in with Nintendo’s motion-controlled Wii console, the five simple sports mini-games encompassing Wii Sports made gaming accessible for new audiences beyond traditional gamers. Its motion-controlled gameplay options for tennis, baseball, golf, bowling, and boxing eased players skeptical of gamepad-reliant titles. Backed by smart marketing, it appealed across wide demographics from young children to elderly relatives in a shared gaming experience.
While rudimentary visually across its sports simulations, excellently responsive motion controls via the Wii Remote made virtual actions as natural as possible. Its simplicity combined with innovative control scheme made Wii Sports the logical ambassador ushering people into modern interactive gaming off the couch. It remains the highest-selling single platform exclusive title ever.
#6: Super Mario Bros.
Release Date: September 13, 1985 (Japan)
Platforms: Various Nintendo Consoles
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Lifetime Sales: Over 58 million physical copies
The sidescrolling platformer genre traces its popularization back to the late 80s NES release of iconic mascot Mario’s first standalone adventure rescuing Princess Peach across the Mushroom Kingdom. While not the first game starring the Nintendo mascot, Super Mario Bros. codified visual traits and gameplay tenants synonymous with the subgenre itself. Vibrant art, bouncy energetic music, clever environments, and tight accessible controls established the template.
Known equally for perfecting existing platforming concepts as it did pioneering new ones like power-ups, enemy variety, hidden secrets, and branching level paths, SMB attracted millions of home console owners to gaming just as the NES brought video games back into the mainstream public eye following the market crash earlier that decade. Modern installments continue building on its winning formula.
#5: PlayerUnknown‘s Battlegrounds
Release Date: December 20, 2017
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Android, iOS
Developer: PUBG Studios
Publisher: Krafton
Lifetime Sales: Over 75 million copies
Capitalizing on the rising battle royale genre dominance established by Fortnite, gritty military shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds quickly rose to the top of the gaming zeitgeist thanks to its methodical survival-driven competitive multiplayer. Starting an online match with no gear, players hunt weapons, ammunition, armor, and health items while battling ever-constricting boundaries forcing opposing players closer together.
PUBG struck a chord thanks to astute pacing balancing tense quiet moments tracking foes and sudden explosive firefights, allowing players’ skills determining outcomes more than sheer luck thanks to refined gunplay mechanics. Plus its experience system and reward unlocks keep multiplayer exciting over hundreds of matches. Even with numerous AAA imitators today, PUBG player numbers have eclipsed one billion powered by free-to-play mobile conversions.
#4: Tetris
Release Date: June 6, 1984
Platforms: Nearly every console/computer/mobile OS
Developer: Various over decades
Publisher: The Tetris Company
Lifetime Sales: Over 100 million paid downloads across all mobile platforms
Boasting perfect game design, Tetris sets the platinum standard for puzzle games thanks to infinitely replayable core mechanics centered on manipulating geometrically interlocking blocks descending the playfield to align and eliminate horizontal lines. Hundreds of ports and iterations have tweaked visuals, unlockables, and modes around this same addictive concept attracting over 425 million mobile downloads alone in the last decade per the Tetris Company’s 35th anniversary.
As the best-selling paid downloaded game ever internationally and among the most consistently ported to new platforms year after year, Tetris proves why honing game design to its purest form pays off. Decades later and virtually unchanged at its core since Alexey Pajitnov programmed the Soviet-developed gem in 1984, its play never grows old. All scores and statistics are submitter-sourced.
#3: Grand Theft Auto V
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS5, Series X/S, Windows
Developer: Rockstar North Publishers: Rockstar Games
Lifetime Sales: Over 170 million copies
Representing a masterful open-world sandbox experience, Grand Theft Auto V brought unprecedented scale paired with cutting-edge visual fidelity pushing boundaries of what passed as cutting-edge at launch across not one but two console generations. Rockstar’s signature franchise simulates law-breaking anarchy realizing players’ criminal impulses to shocking degrees, while backing anti-hero escapades with blockbuster-worthy plots, setpieces, and production values.
GTA V’s sprawling exploration marrying Hollywood-caliber scripts with endless emergent improvisation through side quests and activities within its fully realized metropolis sealed its significance. Online supports years of continued multiplayer amendments alongside solo exploits. Critically acclaimed and recipient of multiple Game of the Year awards, GTA V leads Take-Two Interactive’s entertainment chase competing with rival mainstream media.
#2: Minecraft
Release Date: November 18, 2011
Platforms: Practically every current gaming platform
Developer: Mojang Studios (Microsoft)
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Lifetime Sales: Over 238 million copies
The ultimate virtual sandbox with no set objectives beyond the player’s own imagination, Minecraft empowers gamers to harvest resources and craft increasingly complex materials and structures fully manipulating their randomly generated blocky 3D worlds. Forgoing storylines or characters in favor pure freedom, its flexible systems support boundless creativity for architects and explorers to shape experiences on their own terms.
Accessible mechanics layered with underlying complexity bridging casual and hardcore fans has won over 238+ million purchasers since 2011, making it the de facto leader of the open-ended sandbox simulation genre it codified. Microsoft’s acquisition attests its potential as a creative platform suited for classrooms and beyond gaming. Over a decade since conception and spanning every device now imaginable, the game’s community continues pushing procedural possibilities.
Honorable Mentions
While the above games represent history’s 10 definitive bestselling titles, the following releases deserve special recognition for their strong sales milestones from fifth to eighth place:
- New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS): Over 30.8 million copies
- Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo): Over 37.4 million copies
- Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo): Over 33 million copies
- Pokémon Gold/Silver (Game Boy): Over 23 million copies
The Best Places to Purchase Top Selling Classic Games
Tracking down physical copies of gaming’s all-time top sellers offers a nostalgia rush for longtime gamers. However, hunting vintage titles comes with challenges. Many older games demand past consoles long discontinued. Still, various online and brick-and-mortar retailers provide easier access to yesteryear’s classics.
Online Digital Storefronts
Every current gaming hardware manufacturer provides their own dedicated online shop to purchase classic games digitally. The Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace, and Steam offer select past hits available for download spanning most previous console libraries. Prices and specific games vary.
Game Resale Sites
From single NES cartridges to complete Wii bundles, sites like eBay and GameStop facilitate collectors buying, selling, and trading every obsolete console and game ever published. Rarity and condition determines pricing, but persistence pays off for determined retro collectors.
Emulation
Playing original game ROMs on modern PCs mimic proprietary past consoles via freely available emulation software. Legality remains hotly debated, however this DIY approach grants easy accessibility experiencing yesteryear’s pixelated classics.
