Top 10 Best Selling Video Games in History
Video games (Video games) have long had images created specifically for children or "bookworms". But that is certainly not the case anymore. Video game culture has become mainstream.
In fact, the eSports industry is growing at an amazingly fast rate and has already surpassed most “real life” sports in terms of global popularity. It goes without saying that the video game industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry. The market also belongs to the most competitive markets there. While hundreds of millions of video games are shipped each year, only three video games in history have sold more than a hundred million copies in total. The section below shows which ones and the entire Top 10 best-selling video game rankings.
Note: For obvious reasons, free-to-play video games, such as the popular “Fortnite,” are not recognized in this top 10 best-selling video game chart.
Top 10 best selling video games in history
~ 180 million copies sold
~ 170 million copies sold
~ 115 million copies sold
~ 83 million copies sold
~ 50 million copies sold
~ 49 million copies sold
~ 48 million copies sold
~ 44 million copies sold
~ 37 million copies sold
~ 33 million copies sold
Top 10 video games in history
1. Minecraft
~180 million copies sold
Released: 2011
Genre: Sandbox Survival Game
Platform: Cross-platform
Created by: Mojang
At a time when most video games strive to provide their players with high-end, realistic graphics, Minecraft has proven that graphics are not the main thing that makes a game successful. electronic. The sandbox survival game uses simple, almost absurdly outdated graphics, but it has sold around 180 million worldwide since its release in 2011. The game is developed by the game company. Swedish small electronics company Mojang, the company was only founded in 2009 and is now owned by Microsoft. In addition to the "ancient" graphics, another aspect that makes Minecraft special: It has no specific goal. There are no levels to complete or high scores to break. Players simply build their own worlds while avoiding and/or slaying a variety of monsters. The cross-platform game can be played in both single-player as well as multiplayer modes.
2. Tetris
~ 170 million copies sold
Released: 1984
Genre: Puzzle game
Platform: Cross-platform
Created by: Alexey Pajitnov (person)
Tetris is currently the second best-selling video game in history, only recently surpassed by Minecraft. The game was created in 1984 by Russian software engineer Alexey Pajitnov. The inventor worked for the USSR Academy of Sciences, which still existed then. His initial assignment was to develop a program that would allow the Academy's Computer Center to test newly developed hardware. In other words, Tetris was originally meant to be an experimental piece of software, not a game. But Pajitnov soon realized that his program had become quite popular among his colleagues. With the permission of his superiors and the help of colleagues, the program was later developed into a game and named "Tetris" (a compound word of the geographical shape Tetromino and the sport of trousers). racket). As a result, the game was published worldwide by the Soviet (and later Russian) Elektronorgtechnica state company. The simple yet highly addictive game has been sold around 170 million times since then. Today, the license for the game is handled by the Tetris Company, a Hawaii-based company co-owned by Pajitnov.
3. Grand Theft Auto V
~ 115 million copies sold
Released: 2013
Genre: Action - adventure game
Platform: Cross-platform
Created by: Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto V is the third best-selling video game of all time. It also joins Minecraft and Tetris as the only video games to hit the 100 million mark, having sold a total of about 115 million copies worldwide. GTA V is part of the Grand Theft Auto series, which itself already belongs to the most popular and best-selling video game series in history. GTA V was developed by American video game company Rockstar Games in 2013. While Rockstar, owned by video game giant Take-Two Interactive, is now also known for its games. other widely popular, the GTA brand remains largely synonymous with the company. GTA V is an open-world action-adventure game that allows the player to play with three different characters, each with unique stories and background attributes.
4. Wii Sports
~83 million copies sold
Released: 2006
Genre: Sports Games
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Created by: Nintendo
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Japanese video game giant Nintendo was the unsurpassed superfood of the video game world. But competition, especially from Sony and Microsoft, is on the rise at the turn of the 21st century. Nintendo desperately needs a new innovative gaming concept. And as always, the company has managed to create that. In 2006, Nintendo released a new video game console: the Nintendo Wii. The console's controller includes a sensor that detects three-dimensional movements, making the Wii controllable by the player's movements. Wii Sports represents the original game for the Wii console, and so it's not surprising that the game has sold around 83 million copies worldwide. Wii Sports, like other Wii console games, quickly gained global fame as a popular party game for players of all ages. Like all Wii games, the game was and can only be played on the Wii console.
5. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
~ 50 million copies sold
Released: 2017
Genre: Battle Royale Game
Platform: Cross-platform
Created by: PUGB
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds completes the Top 5 of the 10 best selling video games of all time. Having only been released in 2017, the game has sold around 50 million copies globally. The battle royale style game was created and developed by the Korean video game studio PUBG, part of the Korean video game corporation Bluehole. Cross-platform games can only be played in multiplayer mode. In a typical battle royale setting, players from all over the world are competing against each other in an open world that gets smaller over time until the player has nowhere to hide. The last remaining survivor is declared the winner.
6. Super Mario Bros.
~49 million copies sold
Released: 1985
Category: Platform Games
Platform: Various Nintendo consoles
Created by: Nintendo
7. Pokemon Red / Blue
~ 48 million copies sold
Released: 1996
Genre: Role Playing
Platform: Nintendo Game Boy
Created by: Game Freak
8. Wii Fit
~ 44 million copies sold
Released: 2007
Category: Gymnastics game
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Created by: Nintendo
9. Mario Kart Wii
~37 million copies sold
Released: 2008
Category: Racing Games
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Created by: Nintendo
10. Wii Sports Resort
~ 33 million copies sold
Released: 2009
Category: Sports games
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Created by: Nintendo
Top 10 best selling video games in history
(as of December 2019)
1. MINECRAFT
~ 180 million copies sold
2. TETRIS
~ 170 million copies sold
3. GRAND THEFT AUTO V
~ 115 million copies sold
4. WII SPORTS
~ 83 million copies sold
5. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
~ 50 million copies sold
6. SUPER MARIO BROS
~ 49 million copies sold
7. POKEMON RED / BLUE
~ 48 million copies sold
8. WII FIT
~ 44 million copies sold
9. MARIO KART WII
~ 37 million copies sold
10. WII SPORTS RESORT
~ 33 million copies sold
It’s fascinating to see which games have achieved record-breaking sales over the years, proving the lasting appeal of well-crafted gameplay and storytelling. Titles like Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V have set incredible standards for both player engagement and revenue. For those curious about development investments, exploring the Most Expensive Games can provide insights into how much resources are poured into high-quality titles. These sales milestones highlight how gaming continues to evolve and captivate players worldwide.
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