Discover the 10 Best Selling Video Games Ever

Have you ever wondered what the highest selling video games are of all time? As an experienced gaming analyst, I‘ve crunched the numbers across over 40 years of gaming history to provide a definitive ranking. Get ready to discover the 10 video games that have sold over 100 million copies each, crushing records thanks to their groundbreaking design, sheer popularity, and ability to transcend generations.

Below I‘ll guide you through what catapulted each title to such astronomical sales figures. We‘ll take a nostalgic stroll back in time uncovering fun facts and historical impact. You may even spot some legendary games that ate up entire chunks of our childhood! By the end, you‘ll have a data-driven perspective on the upper echelon of gaming royalty.

Sound like a journey you‘d embark on? Player 1 has entered the game…let‘s-a-go!

#10: Terraria (2011)

Copies Sold: 44.5 Million
Platforms: PC, Consoles, Mobiles
Release Year: 2011

Kicking off our list of megahits is the 2D phenomenon Terraria. Who imagined an indie passion project heavily inspired by Super Nintendo and 90s adventure romps could compete with high budget 3D juggernauts? Yet Terraria‘s captivating sandbox alchemy has enchanted over 40 million gamers and counting!

Its neon-drenched forests, haunted caves, floating islands and nightly blood moons contain endless goals: dig sprawling networks of tunnels, gather rare treasures from perilous dungeons, customize zany character classes, erect titanic fortresses brick-by-brick…or ignore objectives entirely to simply exist within this blocky fantasy realm!

Countless hours vanish while mining veins of glowing pink ore, fusing scrap and gems at ancient mythril anvils, and battling stomping demons desperate to taste a sliver of freedom beyond their hellish domain. Terraria‘s sheer possibility space still consumes millions of lives annually like few games manage.

Ahh Terraria…the game that made the 2010s rule! Were you one of the lucky ones sucked into its vortex of possibilities too? I certainly built my share of aerial treehouses patrolled by sentient swords in self-imposed exile!

#9: Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow (1996)

Copies Sold: 47.5 Million
Platform: Game Boy, Game Boy Color
Release Year: 1996

We‘ve journeyed from mining and crafting to catching ‘em all with the Japanese phenomenon that seized 1996 like a Thunderbolt – Pokémon Red and Green! The games‘ signature rock-paper-scissors mechanics pitting hundreds of discoverable critters with unique powers against rivals proved instantly addictive.

Updating the formula with poké-popular Yellow Version starring mascot Pikachu skyrocketed sales even further. Thus began Pokémon‘s relentless multi-generational barrage towards pop culture immortality as the highest grossing media franchise ever!

Who wasn‘t hopping fences to scavenge long grass for elusive starter Bulbasaur back then? I still remember the fateful day Charizard and I torched the Celadon Gym to cinders! Remakes allow reliving this childhood gem eternally, but that thrill of first departure from Pallet Town persists for millions.

Gotta catch ‘em all only begins describing Pokémon‘s monotonous mantra!

#8: Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Copies Sold: 60 Million
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Year: 2018

Teleporting a century into the future, Rockstar Games‘ open frontier masterpiece Red Dead Redemption 2 encapsulates the entire scope of the fading Wild West unlike any media before it.

From idyllic snow-capped ambles through the Grizzlies mountains to scorching desert shootouts and hellish Louisiana swampland, its jawdropping world brimming with picturesque vistas and lifelike ecosystems has players gaping endlessly. Over 300,000 animations and 500,000 audible dialogue lines ensure each inhabitants’ routine lives on even when you‘re not looking. Such unparalleled ambition captivated millions desperate to inhabit virtual cowboy boots.

I certainly surrendered 200+ hours steeping in culture as gunslinger Arthur Morgan while civilization encroached mercilessly. Have you ridden with the Van der Linde gang through history‘s wildest epoch too?

Saddle up – we‘re just getting started on this video game voyage across time! Next up – an italian plumber takes the spotlight…

#7: Super Mario Bros (1985)

Copies Sold: 58 Million
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Release Year: 1985

No all-time bestseller list would be complete without gaming‘s most famous mascot – Nintendo‘s pudgy red-capped pioneer himself Super Mario!

The sidescrolling platformer gameplay codifying staples like power-ups, secret alternate routes and flagpole finishes seems elementary today. But Super Mario Bros‘ physics-based 2D acrobatics felt unparalleled back in 1985. Simply sprinting right and hurdling mushrooms or hammer tossing turtles with millisecond precisely timed jumps brought endless joy.

I‘ll never forget that sunny afternoon finally rescuing Princess Peach after months trying. Retro gaming bliss! Modern remasters ensure new generations continue enjoying this Simpson-yellow childhood hero. Just look out for those treacherous Hammer Bro ambushes…they‘ve claimed countless virtual lives including mine!

Halfway through our superstar countdown now as Terraria passes the star-powered baton to Pokémon before Mario Kart speeds ahead! Classic mascot rivalry thrives today between Pokémon and Mario’s million sub-franchises. But kart racing is where Nintendo’s portly icon pins the gas pedal down hardest…

#6: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)

Copies Sold: 60.4 Million
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Wii U
Release Year: 2017 (Wii U), 2017 (Switch)

Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, Nintendo deftly fused the kart racing formula they popularized back on Super Nintendo with anti-grav sections, vibrant HD stylings and a mammoth 48 courses. Competitive local and online multiplayer rounds out possibly Mario Kart’s strongest package ever – especially accessible Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch.

Those dreaded homing blue shells seem deadlier than ever though! I‘ll never forget my brother‘s devious triple shell barrage sniping first place at the last nanosecond. Grudges persist decades later…

Relish roaring around rainbow roads and unleashing utter chaos against friends both present and distant! Just beware of blue shells!

#5: PUBG Battlegrounds (2017)

Copies Sold: 75 Million
Platforms: PC, Consoles, Mobiles
Release Year: 2017

We‘ve raced go-karts enough! Let‘s ratchet up stakes with the cutthroat shooter cementing Battle Royale‘s stranglehold on gaming – PUBG: Battlegrounds!

Unlike preceding simulator and MOBA-focused PlayerUnknown titles, Battlegrounds distilled scavenging weapons then eliminating 99 rivals in perpetually shrinking arenas until lone survivor. Gripping high risk, high reward gameplay made Battlegrounds 2017‘s blockbuster streaming phenomenon.

Legions of gamers still replicate tense situations like a desperate sprint chasing ever-closing toxic barriers, silently sniping oblivious scavengers from afar, or going guns blazing kicking down enemy fortress doors! My defeat tally certainly stacks taller than skyscrapers I used to snipe from.

These days competitors like Fortnite or Call of Duty Warzone claim the Battle Royale spotlight instead. But salute PlayerUnknown for immense influence codifying the last man standing genre! Those early isolated gunfights bred today’s live service giants.

Next we tackle the best selling console ever launched alongside its generation defining pack-in title adored eternally…

#4: Wii Sports (2006)

Copies Sold: 82.9 million
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Year: 2006

Wii Sports exemplified Nintendo’s seismic seventh generation philosophy: gaming doesn‘t need complexity to thrill! Simply swing Wiimote controllers to replicate sports like bowling, tennis or baseball. Minimalist visuals barely mattered when beloved activities enjoyed eternally were recreated so authentically at home.

I smile remembering my grandmother finally besting Matt in boxing on her 70th birthday after months trying. Wii Sports bowling remains mandatory for family gatherings even 15 years later! That distinctive disc flipping sound preludes both joy and destruction depending who grabs what controller…

Salute Wii Sports for opening gaming’s doors to all ages. May swing mode eternal provide chaotic living room competition regardless of generation or skill! Now onto the apex of classic gaming royalty – the highest selling puzzle title ever crafted…

#3: Tetris (1984)

Copies Sold: 100+ Million
Platforms: Consoles, Mobiles, Electronics
Release Year: 1984

Deceptively straightforward blobs dropping from above to slot into efficient horizontal lines. Yet untold millions including myself have sunk countless hours battling cascade of Tetriminos since 1984’s emerging Russian brainchild Tetris popularized the puzzle genre.

It’s perfect pick up and play simplicity jousting speed and spatial mastery makes Tetris perennially addicting no matter where you experience its geometric chaos – smartwatches, graphing calculators, keyboards, phones – even translated into vibration signals for the vision impaired! I myself bought Tetris Effect reliving hypnotic trance-like immersion through synergizing sounds and visuals. Such effective design withstands endless reinterpretation across limitless platforms.

Here‘s to many more years pivoting puzzles destined to perplex but satisfy greatly! Two titles left – onward to modern gaming gangstas rocking the charts harder than hip hop icons!

#2: Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

Copies Sold: 175 Million
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Release Year: 2013

I hope you brought chaos! Grand Theft Auto V distills open world pandemonium better than any rival. Rockstar perfected the craft across decades prior, but GTA V showcases abundance possibly overwhelming with relentless satire glazing Los Santos’ towering skyscrapers or Blaine County’s sweeping backcountry.

Smartly implemented heists satisfyingly march towards ever-grander multimillion dollar scores from small league sedan repossessions to offshore gold depository nerve-wracking stealth. And thriving online component GTA Online continually wins new generations of constituent criminal constituents seeking further felonious fortunes!

Want to smash supercars through storefronts, wage urban warfare demolishing half the city, or peacefully parachute towards Vespucci Beach sunsets? The power lies entirely in your hands – wrath and redemption both beckon eternally in the savage paradise of Los Santos!

But one sandbox simulation continues towering higher than even Grove Street gang territorial heights…

#1: Minecraft (2011)

Copies Sold: 238 Million
Platforms: PC, Consoles, Mobiles, Electronics
Release Year: 2011

We‘ve unearthed ancient relics. Hurdled bottomless chasms. Endured apocalyptic wastelands where only lone survivor emerges alive. What‘s left to accomplish?

Craft everything imaginable my friend – bequeath civilizations block by block within Mojang‘s culture conquering phenomenon Minecraft!

Empowering gamers everywhere to construct emerald imaginative vistas limited solely by their own vision, Minecraft has enraptured over 238 million architects and explorers transfixed by their limitless creative potential.

I‘ll never forget spending an entire summer vacation building a scale model Hogwarts castle with working boats, minecarts and potion classrooms! Recent updates with lush cave biomes ready to harvest introduce infinite inspiration for next generation master builders.

Few entertainment experiences elicit such gleeful awe at our own unlimited potential to shape environment around us than Minecraft. So dream big, and create prosperously!

And there we have it – the 10 highest selling video games ever based on copies sold! We uncovered Gordon Freeman crowbarring apart alien oppressors with unique gravity manipulation tools, Joel slowly traversing across fungal apocalyptic America while protecting adopted daughter Ellie, Los Santos’ three despicable protagonists personifying the modern American dream gone awry through opposing lenses, Arthur Morgan riding among history’s wildest epoch experiencing the death of the outlaw age firsthand, and so much more!

Here‘s hoping you discovered some new intriguing gaming gems to embed yourself within while saluting these legendary titles for achieving such meteoric financial success! Tune in next time as we investigate the industry’s single most profitable entertainment launch ever…

Game on!