The Best-Selling Video Games of All Time: Rankings, Figures and Records

What is the best-selling video game of all time? If we are talking about a single game sold across multiple platforms, Minecraft ranks first with more than 425 million copies sold. The figure was announced in late September 2026 by Asha Sharma, head of Xbox. Source: Xbox Wire / Xbox communication about Minecraft There is, however, one special case: Tetris claims more than 520 million units sold worldwide. This figure includes numerous adaptations released on more than 50 platforms since the 1980s. It therefore does not correspond to a single Tetris edition directly comparable with Minecraft, GTA V or Red Dead Redemption 2. Source: The Tetris Company That is why rankings available online do not always have the same number one. In this Game.fr ranking, we separate the record for an individual game from the combined total of multiple Tetris versions.

Quick answer: Minecraft is currently the best-selling individual game in history, with more than 425 million copies sold. Tetris exceeds 520 million units when its different versions and adaptations are added together.

Data verified on October 28, 2026.

What is the best-selling video game of all time?

Minecraft is currently the leading candidate for the title of best-selling individual video game of all time. Released in its complete form in 2011 after its first public versions appeared as early as 2009, Mojang's game has gradually been released on PC, consoles, mobile devices and numerous generations of hardware. In late September 2026, Asha Sharma stated that Minecraft had exceeded 425 million copies sold, while still attracting an average of more than 300,000 new players per day. Source: Xbox Wire The gap with its closest challenger is enormous: Grand Theft Auto V has now surpassed 230 million units sold, according to Take-Two's investor presentation published in August 2026. Source: Take-Two Interactive

Minecraft or Tetris: why do rankings differ?

The Tetris Company officially states that more than 520 million Tetris units have been sold worldwide, across more than 50 platforms. The company itself describes it as a brand and franchise distributed through multiple publishers. Minecraft works differently. Despite its many editions and platforms, sales are generally reported as those of the same title and its primary ecosystem. There are therefore two legitimate answers, but they do not measure exactly the same thing. The main sales compilations also highlight this definitional difficulty and indicate that there is no single audited global database recording sales of every video game.

Ranking of the best-selling video games of all time

The following table lists the largest publicly known figures. We group standard re-releases, ports and enhanced editions when they essentially correspond to the same game, but not true remakes or sequels. Player numbers, free downloads, subscribers and installations are not treated as sales. Also read: our Minecraft guide, our feature on GTA VI, the latest The Witcher 3 news and our analysis of Nintendo sales. *The ranking should be read alongside the methodology explained in this article. For older titles, some figures are based on combined ports and re-releases and are therefore not as directly comparable as recent financial data. There is no centralized global counter for video game sales.

Some visuals associated with the ranking

These images illustrate selected titles. Nintendo or Steam is indicated as the source of each visual, but that source alone does not constitute permission to reuse it. Rights remain with their respective holders.

Several major figures can nevertheless be directly confirmed with publishers. Nintendo, for example, reports 71.53 million Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 50.29 million Animal Crossing: New Horizons and 38.14 million Super Smash Bros. Ultimate units as of June 30, 2026. The original Wii U version of Mario Kart 8 adds 8.46 million, giving a total of 79.99 million when the original game and its Deluxe edition are combined. Source: Nintendo Investor Relations

The Top 10 explained

1. Minecraft — more than 425 million

Minecraft has an extraordinary lead. Its building and exploration concept appeals to very different audiences, while its availability on an increasing number of machines gives it an exceptional commercial lifespan.

The game reached a new milestone in September 2026 with more than 425 million copies sold. Despite its age, it also continues to receive content and is due to arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27, 2026. This figure places Minecraft far ahead of any other known individual game.

2. Grand Theft Auto V — more than 230 million

Initially released in September 2013 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, GTA V subsequently crossed three console generations, in addition to its presence on PC.

Take-Two stated in August 2026 that the game had surpassed 230 million units sold. The group also highlighted the longevity of GTA Online and its regular updates. GTA V alone accounts for almost half of the approximately 475 million copies sold by the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise at that date.

3. Red Dead Redemption 2 — more than 87 million

Rockstar's other giant has also continued to grow long after its release.

Take-Two now reports more than 87 million Red Dead Redemption 2 units sold, while the Red Dead series as a whole approaches 116 million. RDR2 therefore occupies an exceptional position for a game primarily focused on a large single-player adventure, even though Red Dead Online has also extended its commercial life.

4. Wii Sports — approximately 83 million

Wii Sports is a very particular case.

Nintendo distributed it extensively with the Wii console in several territories. Its sales therefore benefited greatly from the machine's success and this bundling strategy. Nintendo's historical data places Wii Sports at around 83 million units, making it the game sold on a single platform with the highest known figure. Nintendo specifies that its Wii software statistics include copies supplied with the hardware. Source: Nintendo Investor Relations This is precisely why a sales ranking must state its methodology: 83 million Wii Sports copies do not tell exactly the same commercial story as 87 million Red Dead Redemption 2 copies.

5. Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — 79.99 million

Mario Kart 8 first appeared on Wii U in 2014 before returning as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch in 2017.

Nintendo currently reports 8.46 million copies for the Wii U version and 71.53 million for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Treating Deluxe as an enhanced edition of the same game brings the total to 79.99 million. Source: Nintendo — Wii U Source: Nintendo — Switch This is also an excellent illustration of Nintendo's ability to extend a title's commercial life considerably.

6. PUBG: Battlegrounds — more than 70 million

PUBG helped fuel the global explosion of the battle royale genre before switching to a free-to-play model.

Krafton announced more than 70 million copies sold on PC and consoles before the move to free-to-play. Players acquired afterward through free-to-play should obviously not be added to this sales figure. This distinction is essential: an account or player count is not equivalent to the number of copies purchased.

7. Terraria — 70 million

Terraria is one of the ranking's most impressive cases.

In 2026, Re-Logic announced 70 million copies sold, including 39.6 million on PC, 10.7 million on consoles and 19.7 million on mobile. Source: Re-Logic / Steam The game was released as early as 2011. Its many updates, relatively accessible price, substantial content and availability on multiple platforms have allowed it to keep growing 15 years after launch.

8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — more than 65 million

It would be difficult to find a better example of a game crossing generations.

Released in 2011, Skyrim has received several editions and re-releases on PC and consoles. Bethesda stated in 2026 that the RPG had exceeded 65 million copies sold. Source: Bethesda Game Studios Its presence across different generations naturally contributes to this figure, which our methodology accounts for by combining enhanced editions of the same title.

8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — more than 65 million

The Witcher 3 has now joined Skyrim at the 65 million copies sold milestone.

CD Projekt confirmed this figure in 2026 and simultaneously stated that The Witcher games as a whole exceed 90 million units. Source: CD Projekt These two RPGs perfectly illustrate the weight of catalog sales: a major release does not necessarily stop generating sales after its first two or three years.

10. Super Mario Bros. and Human: Fall Flat — around 58 million

The tenth place is particularly interesting because it brings together two entirely different eras. For Super Mario Bros., the original NES edition exceeds 40 million, while estimates combining different ports and re-releases of the same game bring its total to approximately 58 million. This scope must therefore be clearly specified.

Human: Fall Flat, released in 2016, passed 58 million units worldwide in late 2025, according to publisher Curve Games and developer No Brakes Games.

Two radically different commercial paths can therefore lead to a comparable order of magnitude.

Why is Tetris sometimes considered the best-selling game?

The issue primarily comes down to the definition of the word "game."

Tetris was created in 1984, but it is not a single edition continuously ported from one machine to another. Dozens of games and adaptations have been published over the decades by different publishers. The Tetris Company currently reports more than 520 million units sold across more than 50 platforms and describes Tetris as a global brand and franchise. Putting this figure directly against Minecraft's 425 million therefore means comparing two different scopes. That is why Game.fr considers Minecraft the best-selling individual game, while separately reporting Tetris's claimed record of more than 520 million units.

Game, series and franchise: three different rankings

This distinction also avoids another common mistake. GTA V has surpassed 230 million copies, but Grand Theft Auto is a franchise made up of many games and is now approaching 475 million combined units. The same applies to Pokémon, Mario and Call of Duty: adding all their productions together and comparing the result with Minecraft's sales does not produce a ranking of games, but a franchise ranking. For this reason, Game.fr will publish a separate ranking of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. The separation also makes searches easier to answer: "best-selling game" and "best-selling franchise" do not mean the same thing.

Nintendo holds an exceptional place in the ranking

Nintendo is particularly well represented among the biggest sellers. As of June 30, 2026, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe stands at 71.53 million, Animal Crossing: New Horizons at 50.29 million, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at 38.14 million, Zelda: Breath of the Wild at 34.06 million on Switch and Super Mario Odyssey at 30.8 million. Source: Nintendo Investor Relations These figures add to the historic successes of Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Bros. and Pokémon. This presence across several decades nevertheless deserves a dedicated ranking: Nintendo's figures combine very different periods, consoles and commercial strategies. A future Game.fr article devoted to the best-selling Nintendo games of all time will therefore compare them using an appropriate methodology.

Can recent games still enter this ranking?

Yes, but passing the 40- or 50-million mark remains extremely rare. Two recent examples nevertheless show that a game can progress very quickly. Cyberpunk 2077 passed 40 million copies sold in 2026. CD Projekt simultaneously reported 15 million copies for its Phantom Liberty expansion. Source: CD Projekt Meanwhile, Hogwarts Legacy had already surpassed 40 million units sold worldwide in December 2025, according to Warner Bros. Games. Source: Warner Bros. Games On a different scale, Stardew Valley shows that gradual growth can be just as remarkable: for its 10th anniversary in February 2026, its creator announced more than 50 million copies sold. Source: Stardew Valley / Steam The ranking is therefore not fixed.

Why do some games keep selling for more than 10 years?

The giants in this ranking rarely built their sales during their first few weeks alone. Minecraft, GTA V, Skyrim, Terraria and Mario Kart 8 have all benefited from an extremely long commercial lifespan. Moving to new consoles obviously plays a role. GTA V has crossed three hardware generations; Skyrim has received numerous editions; Minecraft is available on an enormous variety of platforms; and Mario Kart 8 found an audience on Switch far larger than on Wii U. Regular content is another factor. GTA Online, Minecraft and Terraria have continued evolving long after launch. Price also matters: several of these titles regularly receive discounts and become accessible catalog purchases for each new generation of players. Finally, some games have become social or family reference points. Minecraft, Mario Kart and GTA no longer depend solely on their launch marketing campaign: their popularity passes from one generation of players to the next. It is precisely this ability to sell for five, 10 or sometimes 15 years that turns a commercial success into a historic record.

Will the records change again?

Almost certainly, but it is impossible to know how quickly. Minecraft continues to sell copies despite its considerable lead. GTA V is still regularly reaching new milestones. Red Dead Redemption 2 also continued to grow, reaching more than 87 million units in 2026. Nintendo regularly updates sales of its main games in its financial publications, making it possible to track Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing in particular. Terraria, Stardew Valley, Cyberpunk 2077 and Hogwarts Legacy have also announced new milestones relatively recently. Rather than estimating their future sales, this ranking will therefore be updated when publishers release new verifiable figures.

FAQ: best-selling video games

What is the best-selling video game in the world?

Minecraft, if we are talking about an individual game, with more than 425 million copies sold according to the latest figure announced in September 2026.

Tetris or Minecraft: which has sold more?

The Tetris Company claims more than 520 million units, but this total combines numerous versions and adaptations. Minecraft exceeds 425 million copies as the same game released across many platforms. The two figures therefore do not use exactly the same scope.

What is the best-selling Nintendo game?

If we consider a title's sales on a single console, Wii Sports remains at around 83 million units. However, the game was bundled with a great many Wii consoles, which must be taken into account. On Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is well ahead with 71.53 million copies as of June 30, 2026.

What is the best-selling Rockstar game?

Grand Theft Auto V, with more than 230 million units according to Take-Two in August 2026. It is far ahead of Red Dead Redemption 2, which has nevertheless surpassed 87 million.

What is the best-selling Call of Duty game?

Public figures from Activision documents place Call of Duty: Black Ops III at approximately 43 million units. Since not every episode has received the same level of public detail, a Call of Duty ranking should nevertheless be treated more cautiously than Nintendo or Rockstar rankings.

What is the best-selling PlayStation game?

The question requires clarification about the console concerned: PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4 or PS5. Sony does not maintain a homogeneous public global database comparable to Nintendo's sales tables for every game across all its generations. Multiplatform titles also make comparisons based on total worldwide sales misleading.

What is the best-selling Xbox game?

Here again, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series must be distinguished. Microsoft does not publish a comprehensive, regularly updated table of unit sales for every game on each generation. Minecraft now belongs to Microsoft, but its 425 million sales are multiplatform and obviously do not represent sales on Xbox consoles alone.

What is the best-selling video game franchise?

Guinness World Records places Mario first among video game series, with 893,464,669 units sold for Mario games and spin-offs as of June 10, 2025, excluding Mario Kart World. Nintendo subsequently announced 15.39 million units for Mario Kart World as of June 30, 2026. Adding these two figures exceeds 908.8 million, but this is not a consolidated total published by Nintendo for the entire Mario universe. The standalone Donkey Kong, Wario, Yoshi and Luigi series are not necessarily all included in the Guinness scope. Source: Guinness World Records; Nintendo Investor Relations. The Pokémon Company reports more than 515 million units shipped for Pokémon-related software as of March 31, 2026; this represents shipments, not the same metric as consumer sales. Source: The Pokémon Company. These series totals are not comparable with this article's main ranking, which concerns individual games.

What is the best-selling video game in France?

Available French data, particularly from SELL, can identify best-selling games over certain periods, but there is no exhaustive public ranking tracing the cumulative sales of every game in France from the market's beginnings using the same methodology. It would therefore be misleading to directly transfer the global ranking to France.

How Game.fr verifies this ranking

This ranking is not built using player numbers, accounts created or free downloads. We prioritize unit sales reported by publishers, developers and official financial reports. When primary data is no longer accessible or when a game is older, we cross-check it against recognized archives and secondary sources. We also distinguish between:

• copies sold and registered players;
• sales and free downloads;
• an individual game and an entire franchise;
• ports and enhanced editions and true remakes;
• paid games and titles later converted to free-to-play;
• recent figures and historical estimates.

There is currently no single global database capable of exhaustively and consistently counting sales of every video game. The lower positions in the ranking may therefore vary slightly depending on the methodology used. For this reason, Game.fr states the verification date and prioritizes the latest publicly documented figure rather than an estimate of current sales. Last verified: October 28, 2026.

Main sources

• Nintendo Investor Relations — Nintendo Switch sales
• Nintendo Investor Relations — Wii U sales
• Nintendo Investor Relations — Wii sales
• Take-Two Interactive — investor presentation
• The Tetris Company
• CD Projekt
• Bethesda Game Studios
• Warner Bros. Games
• Re-Logic / Terraria
• Stardew Valley / ConcernedApe
• KRAFTON / PUBG — more than 70 million PC and console copies
• Guinness World Records — Mario games and spin-off sales
• Nintendo Investor Relations — Mario Kart World sales
• The Pokémon Company — Pokémon game units shipped