Jessica Clement
Senior research expert covering video games
Best-selling video games - top publishers and titles - Statistics & Facts
Video games come in all shapes and sizes, from triple-AAA blockbuster releases with marketing campaigns that rival those of Hollywood movies, to independent gaming studios putting out titles that cater to specific audiences. The most popular video games sell millions of copies - currently, the best-selling video game franchise worldwide is Tetris with over 500 million unit sales.
The other top-selling genre for gaming consoles is shooter games, with the Call of Duty series published by Activision Blizzard being the most prominent example. Every November, a new Call of Duty title is published, and the series has surpassed 400 million lifetime unit sales.
FromSoftware’s Elden Ring release in February 2022 was heralded with a massive level of fanfare – after all, George R.R. Martin contributed some of the world lore – and the game delivered: the dark and notoriously difficult RPG was released to rave reviews and sold more than 12 million units worldwide just two weeks after its release, making it one of the fastest video game releases of all time. Another popular RPG release was Hogwarts Legacy, a cross-platform open world action-role playing game set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The game grossed 850 million U.S. dollars at retail in its first two weeks of release.
Despite the top performance of leading gaming series, it is becoming more and more difficult to predict a hit. Some long-awaited titles by major publishers fail to live up to their hype and fall short of their sales expectations, while other games turn into surprise hits and exceed expectations.
Nintendo Switch games are popular beyond release
Through the many generations of Nintendo gaming consoles, Nintendo has published many enduringly popular games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the most popular game for Nintendo Switch of all time, having surpassed 61 million unit sales. The Pokémon series continues to be one of the mainstays of Nintendo gaming, with the original Pokémon Red / Green / Blue releases still being the most popular of them all with over 31 million units sold. Another core series for Nintendo gaming systems is The Legend of Zelda series. The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild was a launch title for the Nintendo switch console and has proved immensely popular with critics and gaming audiences alike. Its highly anticipated follow-up The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released in May 2023 and sold ten million copies within three days of release.Sony has the golden touch with blockbuster releases
Platform exclusives are very important when it comes to console gaming and Sony is no slouch – some of the all-time best-selling PlayStation 4 games are games that are only available on PlayStation before Sony changed its approach regarding PC releases. The 2018 release of God of War racked up 19.5 million PlayStation 4 sales before getting a PC port in January 2022. Sony has a selection of top gaming titles which have proven successful beyond the PlayStation console - several much-requested titles have received a release on PC (including platform exclusives Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel's Spider-Man, and Death Stranding) and/or have been adapted into TV series and movies (The Last of Us, Uncharted).Top-selling gaming genres – sports games and shooters
Beyond individual hit titles, there are two major gaming franchises that always feature in the best-seller lists regardless of platform – EA Sports FC (formerly known as FIFA) and Call of Duty. Like clockwork, Electronic Arts publishes an EA Sports FC title in early fall, and the titles enter the best-selling rankings until the successor is released. EA Sports FC 24 was the most downloaded PlayStation 4 game in Europe in 2023, with FIFA 2023 still reaching a respectable 5th place. Other popular sports gaming franchise titles like NBA 2K, MLB, and Madden NFL also populate the best-seller rankings.The other top-selling genre for gaming consoles is shooter games, with the Call of Duty series published by Activision Blizzard being the most prominent example. Every November, a new Call of Duty title is published, and the series has surpassed 400 million lifetime unit sales.
RPGs are a popular gaming genre regardless of platform
Role-playing games are another genre full of popular titles with Japanese companies providing some of the most notable content in this segment. Square Enix has published some of the most popular games of all time – the company’s long-running Final Fantasy franchise has sold more than 185 million units and counting.FromSoftware’s Elden Ring release in February 2022 was heralded with a massive level of fanfare – after all, George R.R. Martin contributed some of the world lore – and the game delivered: the dark and notoriously difficult RPG was released to rave reviews and sold more than 12 million units worldwide just two weeks after its release, making it one of the fastest video game releases of all time. Another popular RPG release was Hogwarts Legacy, a cross-platform open world action-role playing game set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The game grossed 850 million U.S. dollars at retail in its first two weeks of release.
Despite the top performance of leading gaming series, it is becoming more and more difficult to predict a hit. Some long-awaited titles by major publishers fail to live up to their hype and fall short of their sales expectations, while other games turn into surprise hits and exceed expectations.
Jessica Clement
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Jun 19, 2024
Jessica Clement
Senior research expert covering video games
