Top 10 best-selling video games of all time

Copies, players and revenue

One sold copy does not necessarily correspond to one person. A player may purchase the same title on several systems, while a household may share one copy. Revenue also depends on price, discounts and in-game purchases, so a game with fewer copies sold can generate more money. It would be misleading to label this order as the most played games or the most profitable games. Each of those measures needs a separate definition and a dataset that matches it.

Bundles and multiple editions

Wii Sports demonstrates why bundled copies need an explicit rule. The original puzzle includes copies distributed in hardware bundles. Other entries have remasters or editions released on different platforms, which the puzzle groups with the original title under its stated convention. A franchise total is different again: adding every Minecraft-related game or every Mario title would no longer compare individual releases. Tetris also requires care because the name covers many separately published implementations, making scope unusually important.

Why no precise sales chart is added

Publisher milestones are released at different times and are often rounded. A press release announcing a new cumulative total does not establish what the total was at an earlier archive cutoff. Historical sales comparisons also need a consistent rule for units sold before a game became free to play. The existing answer set remains playable, but the exact ten-row 2025 source snapshot needs a fresh reconciliation with publisher records. Historical totals should be checked against each publisher’s dated disclosures, with bundled copies and combined editions counted under one consistent rule, before using these answers as a verified sales record.

Sources & further reading

• Microsoft: Minecraft sales milestone and scope
• Nintendo: top-selling software units

Explanation updated Thursday, October 1, 2026. The puzzle’s original data date is listed below.