The 10 Best-selling video game series of all time
4th Apr 2024 Lifestyle
7 min read
Video games have seen very high sales numbers for a relatively short time of the industry existing, this is a list of top ten best-selling video game series
Video games have a lasting appeal and like other
popular entertainment (films, TV, music) can be very cross-generational. And
gamer or not, almost everyone has heard of Mario, Tetris or Pokémon.
The highest-selling video game series have become
cultural staples over decades, being instantly recognisable as well as
referenced across different media. Here are the top ten best-selling series of
all time.
1. Tetris, 500 million sales, (1984—present)
Tetris is a seminal
and iconic game and also one of the earliest games to come out in the industry.
Tetris initially was popularised by being a staple feature in arcade machines
across the world. Tetris has since spread to other consoles, including
handhelds, computers and mobile platforms.
2. Mario, 500 million+ sales (1985—present)
Nintendo
From Super Mario Bros to Mario Kart and Mario
Party, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of, or played Mario games. The
nearly 40-year-old franchise is a household name in the video game industry and
has expanded to party games, as well as sports titles from its initial 2D
platform roots.
3. Pokémon, 480 million sales, (1996—present)
Pokémon is
understandably one of the highest-selling video game series, being instantly
recognisable around the world. The series has had multiple entries in its
nearly 30-year run, across several generations of gaming, first launching on
the Game Boy Colour with Pokémon red and Pokémon blue versions.
4. Call of Duty, 425 million sales, (2003—present)
Activision / Treyarch
Consistently one of the best-selling titles due to its
large fanbase and annual releases, it’s no surprise to see Call of Duty
high on this list. The series has over
20 entries in its main series with spinoffs, an online battle
arena version and the more recent remakes of older titles.
5. Grand Theft Auto, 405 million sales (1997—present)
Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto is one of
the most well-known game franchises in the world and has also gone through
drastic changes since its first title in
1997. The game series has five mainline titles to date,
each coming out every four to five years on average. Set in open world
environments based on real world cities, the games see you play as a main
protagonist, carrying out specific missions to build up wealth and progress the
story.
The next game in the series, GTAVI is slated
for a 2025 release.
6. FIFA, 325 million+ sales, (1993—2022)
EA
Interestingly FIFA is the only series on here
that has officially ended. FIFA was one of game publisher EA’s biggest
money makers and a hotly anticipated annual release. Popular game modes
included career mode and FIFA Ultimate Team, allowing players to create
teams with players from football history and compete in tournaments.
However, EA lost the licence to the FIFA title
and rights, resulting in the series ending
in 2022, with FIFA 23 being the last game in the
series.
7. Minecraft, 300 million+ sales (2011—present)
Mojang studios
Minecraft, developed
by Swedish developer Mojang studios is the most recent series on the list. The
game is set in a procedurally generated sandbox
environment with a unique block-like 3D graphics.
The set-up allows users to follow a story of sorts,
with an emphasis on freedom of choice. Gamers can extract materials, craft tools
and create structures of their choice, as simple or elaborate as they desire.
8. LEGO, 200 million sales (1997—present)
TT Games
Lego is most well-known for their children’s toys and
sets but the Lego series of games has had a maybe surprising appeal to gamers
worldwide and not just to a strictly younger demographic. Part of the series’
ongoing success has been due to them tying into popular existing franchises
like Lord of The Rings and Star Wars among others. The LEGO games
of these titles are often comedic re-tellings of said stories across multiple
games.
9. The Sims, 200 million+ sales (2000—present)
The popular life simulator series appropriately named The
Sims has been keeping people occupied with maintaining the lives of
fictional people called “sims” for over 24 years. As sandbox games with no
strictly defined goal, they allow you to play as you desire, placing the sims
in houses and letting you dictate their lives and moods.
10. Assassin’s Creed, 200 million sales, (2007—present)
The open world action / role-playing series Assassin’s
Creed from developer Ubisoft rounds up the top ten best-selling video
series. Another more modern franchise, Assassin’s Creed sees gamers take
on the role of an assassin protagonist in different time periods.
Which change from game to game. The games are known
for having fast-moving acrobatics and free running in open-world environments,
with different game plots that add to an overarching story.
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