The 20 Best-Selling Video Games of All Time

“Duck Hunt” is a simple game: Take the light gun, aim, and hit as many flying targets as you can. The better your sharpshooting skills, the higher the chance you’re going to win. The game’s high sales figure is due in large part to the fact that it was bundled at launch with the Nintendo Entertainment System.

“The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” is a single-player video game and the fifth chapter in the Elder Scrolls series of action role-playing video games. The story of the game is centered around Dragonborn who faces his biggest enemy yet in his quest to save the world. The game has been released on multiple generations of consoles, including for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, six years after the game first came out in North America.

“Diablo III” is the third installment of the action role-playing Diablo franchise, which is basically about the battle between good and evil. There is a multiplayer option where players can join a clan. Players choose to play as a certain character — such as Barbarian, Blacksmith, Demon Hunter — and have to defeat Diablo, the Lord of Terror.

Call of Duty is an iconic franchise of first-person shooter video games with multiple best-selling spinoffs and sequels to the original. “Modern Warfare” is the 2019 edition and includes cross-play and new multiplayer maps, among other updates. The game follows U.S. and British spy agents and special forces who together fight Russian soldiers invading the fictional country of Urzikstan.

While the game has inspired numerous spin-off versions, the original “Tetris” is by far the most popular. Much like a puzzle, “Tetris” is a tile-matching game. The video game’s graphics are simple: the player has to fit fast-dropping tiles together to create solid lines. “Tetris” was developed by a Russian software engineer by accident when he was testing a new computer.

“Terraria” is a 2-D action-adventure sandbox game in which the player controls one character in a world he or she creates. The game was originally released in 2011 but has cultivated a growing fanbase, thanks in large part to regular patches and updates from the developer. The most recent major patch to the game came out on May 16, 2019, on the game’s ninth anniversary.

“New Super Mario Bros. Wii” is a version of the iconic Super Mario side-scrolling video game from the 1980s in which up to four players can play at the same time. The players are ranked by their score, collected coins, and number of defeated enemies. Players are able to invite up to three others to join in the game at any point.

The precursor to the 14th-ranked game on this list, “New Super Mario Bros.,” originally released for the Nintendo DS, sold slightly better than the Wii follow-up. In “New Super Mario Bros.,” Mario fights henchmen through a total of 80 levels to rescue Princess Peach. The game utilizes 3D graphics to enhance its two-dimensional game-playing experience.

In “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” players, who are on a deserted island, create their own personal world. They get to craft everything from tools to furniture and landscape and visit the islands of their friends. The game found tremendous success in part because of its release in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people around the world were newly isolated.

Pokémon Red and Green versions were released in 1996 in Japan, and two years later, Red and Blue came out in the United States, with all three versions of the game finding tremendous success. The original versions of the Pokémon role-playing video game franchise started the phenomenon that spawned over 120 different video games in multiple genres.

“Wii Sports Resort” is a simulation video game and a sequel to “Wii Sports.” The players are basically in a resort where they can play many sports, including Frisbee, golf, and archery. Like with “Duck Hunt,” the game’s strong sales are thanks in large part to it being bundled with later editions of the Wii console.

“Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” is the latest edition of the popular kart racing video game franchise. There are 48 courses and 42 characters players can choose from, more than any other game in the Mario Kart series.

“Red Dead Redemption 2,” the third installment of the Red Dead video game franchise, is a prequel to “Red Dead Redemption.” The game follows outlaw Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang, who are on the run in the dying days of the American wild west.

“Mario Kart Wii” is the sixth installment of the Mario Kart racing video game and the second chapter of the classic series on this list. “Mario Kart Wii” added 16 courses to the 16 courses from prior Mario Kart games. In this version, players also have the option of riding motorbikes in addition to the classic karts.

“Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” is a multiplayer and tactical first-person shooter video game. It was the first game of the Counter-Strike series to be released for Xbox 360 console. Players are sent on military missions and fight in teams.

“Super Mario Bros.” is the first of the iconic Super Mario video game series. The story centers on a plumber named Mario who, sometimes with his brother Luigi, goes through many obstacles to save Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the king of the Mushroom Kingdom, from the evil Bowser.

“PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” or PUBG, is an online multiplayer battle royale game in which 100 players use their strategic and shooting skills to fight each other. The last person standing is the winner.

Using only the Wii Remote, players can play tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, or boxing. They mimic the actions of hitting a ball with a racket, bar, or a club, or rolling a ball down. Wii Sports was bundled at launch with the Wii.

“Grand Theft Auto V” is an action-adventure video game in which players create their own criminal empire. The story centers on three criminals who have to pull off nearly impossible tasks to survive. Years after its launch, the game continues to have success thanks in part to the online version of the game, which Rockstar continues to update.

“Minecraft” is a single- or multiplayer sandbox video game. Players start out with an infinite terrain, which they explore for resources. They eventually create their own worlds, crafting tools and weapons to fight dangerous mobs.