Video games have been wildly popular since the release of Atari’s Pong. Since then, video games have evolved at a rapid pace. Improving technology and customer demand resulted in faster, better-looking, and all around more complex games.
Along the way, some titles have sold far better than others. 24/7 Wall St. has reviewed unit sales data for over 100,000 video games to identify the most popular games of all time.
Click here to see the most popular video games of all time.
Benefiting from the most recent technological developments and a growing market, games released in recent years are largely the winners, achieving the most sales. Twenty-five of the top selling games of all time were released in the 2000s and 18 came out in 2010 or after.
A number of outstanding games released in the 1980s and 90s also appear on the list thanks to high sales since their release. All of these, including such games as Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros., and the early Pokémon games, were released by Japanese gaming giant Nintendo. Overall, the company accounts for 24 of the 50 most popular games.
A more diverse range of publishers appear when looking at games released in more recent years, including Electronic Arts, Bethesda Softworks, and Microsoft Game Studios. Rockstar Games appears multiple times with several installments of its hugely successful Grand Theft Auto series, as does Activision, the company behind the extensive line of Call of Duty games. Of these two series alone, 13 titles made the list.
Other series with multiple titles on the list include FIFA, Mario Kart, and Pokémon.
To identify the most popular games of all time, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the total units sold of video game titles since their respective releases as provided by VGChartz. Sales for titles released across multiple consoles were combined. Data on release dates and publishers also came from VGChartz.
Source: "Hsyper" / Flickr
50. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
> Total copies sold: 14.98 million
> Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
> Primary console: PS2 (100% of sales)
> Release date: July 9, 2001
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Source: Courtesy of EA
49. The Sims 3
> Total copies sold: 15.12 million
> Publisher: Electronic Arts
> Primary console: PC (53% of sales)
> Release date: June 2, 2009
Source: mattjerome_88 / Flickr
48. Pokémon Black/White Version
> Total copies sold: 15.18 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: March 6, 2011
Source: Amazon.com
47. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day
> Total copies sold: 15.29 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 20, 2007
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Source: Courtesy of Disney
46. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
> Total copies sold: 15.33 million
> Publisher: LucasArts
> Primary console: Wii (37% of sales)
> Release date: November 6, 2007
Source: RCuerda29 / Flickr
45. FIFA 13
> Total copies sold: 15.36 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS3 (52% of sales)
> Release date: September 25, 2012
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Source: Courtesy of EA Sports
44. FIFA 16
> Total copies sold: 15.80 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS4 (52% of sales)
> Release date: September 22, 2015
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Source: Courtesy of Pokémon
43. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire Version
> Total copies sold: 15.85 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy Advance (100% of sales)
> Release date: March 17, 2003
Source: GameKiller346 / YouTube
42. Call of Duty: World at War
> Total copies sold: 15.91 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (47% of sales)
> Release date: November 10, 2008
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Source: Honou / Flickr
41. Pokémon X/Y
> Total copies sold: 16.15 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo 3DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 12, 2013
Source: SARS Ninja / Flickr
40. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
> Total copies sold: 16.19 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: PS2 (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 28, 2002
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Source: Courtesy of Activision
39. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
> Total copies sold: 16.38 million
> Publisher: RedOctane
> Primary console: PS2 (30% of sales)
> Release date: October 28, 2007
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Source: Courtesy of EA Sports
38. FIFA Soccer 14
> Total copies sold: 16.38 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS3 (40% of sales)
> Release date: September 24, 2013
Source: Courtesy of EA Sports
37. FIFA 17
> Total copies sold: 16.92 million
> Publisher: Electronic Arts
> Primary console: PS4 (64% of sales)
> Release date: September 27, 2016
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
36. Super Mario Bros. 3
> Total copies sold: 17.28 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: NES (100% of sales)
> Release date: February 12, 1990
Source: Courtesy of Microsoft
35. Battlefield 3
> Total copies sold: 17.32 million
> Publisher: Electronic Arts
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (42% of sales)
> Release date: October 25, 2011
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Source: BagoGames / Flickr
34. FIFA 15
> Total copies sold: 17.98 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS4 (35% of sales)
> Release date: September 23, 2014
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
33. Super Mario Land
> Total copies sold: 18.14 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 1, 1989
Source: TantrisOST / Flickr
32. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Version
> Total copies sold: 18.25 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: April 28, 2007
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Source: GameKiller346 / YouTube
31. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
> Total copies sold: 18.33 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (51% of sales)
> Release date: November 5, 2007
Source: BagoGames / Flickr
30. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
> Total copies sold: 19.61 million
> Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (45% of sales)
> Release date: November 11, 2011
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
29. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
> Total copies sold: 20.16 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: April 17, 2006
Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
28. Super Mario World
> Total copies sold: 20.61 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Super NES (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 13, 1991
Source: Courtesy of Activision
27. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
> Total copies sold: 21.76 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: PS4 (35% of sales)
> Release date: November 4, 2014
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
26. Wii Fit Plus
> Total copies sold: 21.81 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 4, 2009
Source: DanQ8000 / YouTube
25. Kinect Adventures!
> Total copies sold: 22.09 million
> Publisher: Microsoft
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 4, 2010
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Source: Courtesy of Rock Star Games
24. Grand Theft Auto IV
> Total copies sold: 22.51 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (49% of sales)
> Release date: April 29, 2008
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
23. Wii Fit
> Total copies sold: 22.70 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: May 21, 2008
Source: BagoGames / Flickr
22. Pokémon Gold/Silver Version
> Total copies sold: 23.10 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 14, 2000
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Source: Lordcolus / Flickr
21. Mario Kart DS
> Total copies sold: 23.26 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 14, 2005
Source: Mariam Maldonado / Flickr
20. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
> Total copies sold: 23.87 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: PS2 (87% of sales)
> Release date: October 26, 2004
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
19. Nintendogs
> Total copies sold: 24.68 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 23, 2005
Source: SS Games Online / Flickr
18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
> Total copies sold: 25.00 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (54% of sales)
> Release date: November 10, 2009
Source: Courtesy of Activision
17. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
> Total copies sold: 26.46 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: PS4 (57% of sales)
> Release date: November 6, 2015
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Source: Courtesy of Activision
16. Call of Duty: Ghosts
> Total copies sold: 28.10 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (37% of sales)
> Release date: November 5, 2013
Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
15. Duck Hunt
> Total copies sold: 28.31 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: NES (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 15, 1985
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
14. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
> Total copies sold: 28.47 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 15, 2009
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
13. Wii Play
> Total copies sold: 28.92 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: February 12, 2007
Source: BagoGames / Flickr
12. Minecraft
> Total copies sold: 29.13 million
> Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (33% of sales)
> Release date: June 4, 2013
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Source: ggalvan1800 / Flickr
11. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
> Total copies sold: 29.58 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (47% of sales)
> Release date: November 13, 2012
Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
10. New Super Mario Bros.
> Total copies sold: 29.85 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: May 15, 2006
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Source: Courtesy of Activision
9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
> Total copies sold: 30.71 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (48% of sales)
> Release date: November 8, 2011
Source: Courtesy of Activision
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops
> Total copies sold: 30.99 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (48% of sales)
> Release date: November 9, 2010
Source: Courtesy of The Pokémon Company
7. Pokémon Red/Green/Blue Version
> Total copies sold: 31.37 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (100% of sales)
> Release date: September 30, 1998
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Source: yoppy / Flickr
6. Wii Sports Resort
> Total copies sold: 32.90 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: July 26, 2009
Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
5. Mario Kart Wii
> Total copies sold: 35.78 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: April 27, 2008
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Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
4. Tetris
> Total copies sold: 35.84 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (84% of sales)
> Release date: June 1, 1989
24/7 Wall St.Source: Courtesy of Nintendo
3. Super Mario Bros.
> Total copies sold: 45.31 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: NES (89% of sales)
> Release date: October 18, 1985
Source: BagoGames / Flickr
2. Grand Theft Auto V
> Total copies sold: 61.85 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: PS3 (33% of sales)
> Release date: September 17, 2013
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Source: BagoGames / Flickr
1. Wii Sports
> Total copies sold: 82.65 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 19, 2006
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