which games sold the most copies?

While the number of sales isn't the only metric related to how good a game is, it is a good measure of how some titles had effect on people over time. In this article, we have presented a list of the bestselling video games, replying to question which games sold the most copies throughout ages? It should be noted that these aren’t the best video games anyway.

Interestingly, all of the games below had come in companion with a device at some point, except for Terraria. Moreover, only seven of the games below are exclusive to one type of video game console, six on the Wii and one on the Nintendo DS. All other games are available on multiple platforms. It is also worth noting here that many of the sales statistics here belong to two years ago and are likely to be higher now.

20- Wii Play (28.02 million sales)

As with many successful Nintendo games, the Wii Play was sold as part of a bundle. Instead of being an accompaniment to every gaming console, it came with a Wii remote control, and probably that’s why its sales reached 28 million. The game itself is not impressive, but rather an simple game that anyone can play. This game consists of nine games like billiards, fishing and firing range. It's one of the most popular Wii games, though not the best one.

19- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (28.3 million sales)

As if this game appeared from nowhere! The previous version of it, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was so good, but no one thought the later version would be so popular. It has a beautiful open world, cute characters and a great gameplay that make it difficult to stay away from, as well as side missions that are perhaps more impressive than the game's main mission. This game is available for PC, PS4, Xbox One and finally Nintendo Switch, making it available to large audiences and in many places.




18- Pokémon Generation 2 (29.49 million sales)

Since the first generation of Pokémon was so popular, the second generation Pokémon was supposed to be successful as well. Including the Gold, Silver and Crystal versions, this game is developed for those who want more. Added quality of life improvements as well as new types of Pokémon to capture.




17- Diablo III and Reaper of Souls (30 million sales)

Diablo III and Harvest of Lives won 30 million sales in 2015, setting a record just three years after its release. Given the speed at which it increased the number of sales, it likely has generated much more sales until now.




16- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (30 million sales)

It's difficult to say how many copies of Skyrim has been sold, especially with its uncountable number of re-releases and improvements. Todd Howard, the director of Bethesda Game Studios, reported that more than 30 million copies of the game had been sold in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone. Also, Howard said in the same interview, that the average player spent more than 150 hours in this game. This interview was conducted before the VR releases of this game, the Nintendo Switch port and the Skyrim Alexa skill.




15- Terraria (30.3 million sales)

Since launching this action and adventure sandbox in 2011, it has garnered massive support that has led to millions of copies of it being sold throughout the world. 14 million of the sales was for PC. Finally, the developers of this game have released their latest version called Journey’s End and now are working on another play.




14- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (30.3 million sales)

In this list, the only game that runs on one platform is this one. The reason it has this degree is that it comes with a bundle that includes a red limited edition Wii video game console, for the celebration of Nintendo's 25th anniversary.




13- New Super Mario Bros. (30 million sales)

New Super Mario Bros. released 2006 for the Nintendo DS is the best-selling DS game throughout ages, with over 31 million sales. The first in the list of games that has continued to this day. As with all the games in the list, it is included in the Nintendo DS bundle, which is the reason for the high number of purchases.

12.Red Dead Redemption (32 million sales)

This is the most ambitious Rockstar game yet which gives us one of the best virtual open worlds ever. In that world, you'll see a group of characters with intelligible and realistic incentives that you know. It is a slow game, but this did not prevent it from being bought by millions of people, numbering 32 million.




11.Wii Sports Resort (33.11 million sales)

This game is only an expansion of the popular Wii Sports demo disc that was previously included in the Wii video game console. Then Nintendo upgraded the Wii console in 2009 after finding issues in it. The result is a Wii MotionPlus accessory that plugs into the Wii controller’s Nunchuck port. The high volume of sales of Wii games is a result of including these games into bundles of devices and accessories, and this is true of some other games as well.

10.Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (35.19 million sales)

Given the benchmarks of the best-selling games of all time, Mario Kart 8 is not a qualified game. The decrease in sales of the Wii U may have resulted in lower than average numbers.




9-Mario Kart Wii (37.24 million sales)

This is another case of games that come with a video game console or accessory package. Mario Kart had sales of 40 million as of 2019. The base game comes with a specially designed wheel that you mount a Wii console on. Also, Nintendo sold a black Wii package that includes the game, a Wii MotionPlus controller, and a black peculiar wheel.

8- Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus (43.8 million sales)

On an easy walk down the electronics lane of any store, you'll see just how popular Wii Fit is. This game turns a video puzzle player into a stimulating physical exercise tool with a variety of yoga and strength training poses. Wii Fit is an ideal family health way of taking family members off the couch to exercise.

7- Pokémon Gen. 1 (47.52 million sales)

The first generation of Pokemon games (those that were red, blue, yellow, or green) make up about 20% of Pokemon's approximately 275 million sales. Including the original Japanese versions in red and green as well as American versions in the form of red, blue and yellow the number of first generation Pokemon players reached 50 million.

6- Super Mario Bros. (48.24 million sales)

The Super Mario bros. was released in its first days of home play on NES, and has since been moved to large number of other systems. Despite the fact that the market at the time was much smaller than the market today, the game had withstood, and the number of copies on NES devices reached more than 40 million. The remaining 8 million are for versions on Virtual Wii Consoles, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance. Rather, the number of 48 million represents the number of copies sold, physically or digitally, and the number of people who have already played the game is much higher than this.




5- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (70 million sales)

Battle Ground Player Unknown, which made the royal war genre popular, had more than 70 million sales up to 2020. This number is the number of sales on PCs and Xbox One. Since the sales declaration, the game was released on PS4 console, so it’s likely that the number is much higher than this.

The number of players of this game is many times higher. PUBG numbers over 70 million. And in the same sales declaration declaring this, the game is said to have a player base of more than 400 million players. More than 350 million of them are on mobile devices, where PUBG is available as a free download.

4- Wii Sports (82.9 million sales)

It's a bit of a deception that this game is on this list. The game is included with every Wii game console and so it was sold as many as that game consoles, even if users didn't like it. It is among Nintendo’s traditions that it publishes its games as companion of its devices, even if the games are not satisfactory. Thus, more than 82 million of these plays have been sold. Keeping in mind that 100 million Wii devices were sold, the remaining 20 million could be due to Wii Mini sales.

3- Grand Theft Auto V (135 million sales)

 Take-Two's earnings report belonging to the first quarter of 2020 indicates that Grand Theft Auto V had 135 million sales in the world, including 15 million sales taken place in 2020. The number includes all of play’s sales in all versions of different gaming consoles. The main reason for this ranking (in addition to the single player mode) is the online version of Grand Theft Auto Online. This game is set in Los Santos with the aim of having the most luxurious life you can imagine.

2- Minecraft (200 million sales)

As in the upcoming Tetris game, we don't know exactly how many Minecraft games has been sold. And the only thing we know exactly is that the number is very high. The number of sales in gaming consoles, phones and personal computers is 200 million. If we count the free-to-play version, the number of players may reach approximately 500 million. This game was free to start with, but after that it appeared as a pre-order game.

1- Tetris (495 million sales)

It's easy to track Tetris sales accurately. While it has sold 70 million physical copies (35 million of which come from the Game Boy edition). Profit from mobile app sales makes Tetris the # 1 award-winning game.

According to a 2014 interview with Ventorbit, Tetris has 400 million mobile phone sales, and that doesn't include free games. Although Tetris is available in this format, the sale of the 425 million paid downloads comes in. Note that this number goes back six years before, that is why this is the best-selling game of all time anyway.