The gaming industry has always been a numbers-driven one. While today’s relatively mild console battles and monthly reports maintain sales data near the forefront of games-related debate, the Sega vs. Nintendo console wars of the 1990s defined a generation. Monthly active users, player retention rates, in-game revenue, and other metrics are necessary for the success of new monetization strategies.
What game has made the most money? is still one of the industry’s most pressing questions. Continue reading to find the answer to this query!
Leading 5 Highest-Grossing Video Games
Come along as we explore the highest-grossing video games of all time. Remember that the numbers are adjusted for inflation and that the games with the highest revenue totals don’t always have the highest sales totals!
#1) Tetris: 520 Million Copies Sold
According to The Tetris Company, Tetris is arguably the most classic video game ever. It has sold 520 million copies, which makes it sit comfortably at the top of this list. Sales on all platforms are included in that figure, with smartphones accounting for the majority. As of 2014, according to managing director Henk Rogers of The Tetris Company, Tetris reached 425 million paid smartphone downloads.
After being first released on the Soviet Union’s Elektronika 60 computer, Tetris has subsequently been adapted for more than 50 different platforms. Notably, it contributed to the success of the Game Boy, which sold 35 million copies on Nintendo’s portable device.
#2) Minecraft: 300 Million Copies Sold
According to Microsoft, Minecraft had sold 238 million copies as of April 2021, but sales have undoubtedly increased over the past few years. The business points out that number includes the overall sales across all 22 platforms. Additionally, Minecraft has surpassed the medium in a manner that few others have before it, with projects in the works for movies, Netflix, education, toys, and many other areas.
#3) GTA V: 200 Million Copies Sold
Grand Theft Auto V is the most-sold console and computer game ever. More than 170 million copies of Rockstar’s most ambitious game had sold as of September 30, 2022 From 2013 until 2024, this statistic compiles the sales of the game over the PC and three platform generations.
GTA 5 became the most profitable entertainment release in history, with it being the fastest game to achieve $1 billion across all media in 2018.
Since then, it has made Rockstar and Take-Two billions more. All GTA fans are awaiting GTA VI’s release, which will surely garner millions of sold copies as well. You can find out more about GTA VI’s long-awaited release here.
#4) PUBG: 75 Million Copies Sold
With 75 million downloads as of December 2021, PUBG undoubtedly deserves a major spot on this list. The game had a central role in the explosion in popularity of battle royale games over the past five years, and it has been a surprising financial success for the company behind it.
Since the shooter became free to play in January of 2022, that will likely be its ultimate sales total. As of March 2021, PUBG Mobile has garnered over a billion downloads even though its sales total does not include free mobile downloads.
#5) Mario Kart 8 + Deluxe: 53 Million Copies Sold
Nintendo claims that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game of all time, with over 53 million copies sold as of March 31, 2023. When you add in the initial Wii U release, the number goes up to nearly 62 million, making it among the top five popular-selling games ever.
The fifteen million-unit sales disparity between MK8 and the next best-selling game makes climbing any higher on this list highly improbable.
Despite complaints about its battle feature, Mario Kart 8 received primarily positive reviews for its gameplay and visuals. Because of its superior graphics and bevy of content, critics hailed Deluxe as the definitive version of the game.
Here We Go!
The titles mentioned above make us question whether this idea works in the gaming industry, even though it’s true that product quality isn’t necessarily correlated with financial success. The games mentioned above weren’t only successful; they attracted millions of players and revolutionized the gaming industry with unprecedented global reach.
The top-grossing games serve as a unifying force for players, drawing in new fans and even those previously uninterested in gaming, whether through entirely new concepts or improvements on existing systems. Either of our highest-grossing video games ever is available for your perusal. Or perhaps, are they so popular that you have already played all of them?
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