This past decade has given players on each console an overwhelming amount of titles to dive into and partner up to take on enemies of all kinds. From 2011 to 2021, this past decade was arguably the best and most successful since the '90s; a time which overflowed with Super Mario and Pokemon running across television screens.
From Grand Theft Auto V becoming the fastest-selling entertainment product in history to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds having over 3 million active players during the birth of the battle royale phenomena, the decade included some of the largest titles in gaming history.
Updated June 7, 2021, by Tom Bowen: Though undoubtedly a terrible year for humanity, 2020 proved to be a hugely profitable one for the gaming industry. With millions of people stuck inside due to lockdowns and self-isolation, sales of video games skyrocketed, leading to many publishers and developers reporting record-breaking profits at the end of the financial year. While many of these sales were of newer titles, a lot of older games continued to sell well, further inflating their already impressive total sales figures.
15 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (24 Million Units)
Considered by some to be the best Zelda game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released for both the Wii U and the Switch in March 2017. Since then, it has gone on to sell more than 24 million copies, with the vast majority of those coming on the Switch.
Not everybody was enthused by the addition of weapon durability and cooking mechanics, but the sheer scale of Hyrule and the game's beautiful art style impressed both fans and critics alike. As well as its high sales, the game holds a 97 rating on Metacritic and has picked up countless awards since its release.
14 FIFA 18 (24 Million Units)
When it comes to sports simulation games, few series have sold quite as many copies as FIFA. Like the sport it depicts, EA's microtransaction-filled monstrosity is popular all over the world, with each game typically selling tens of millions of copies as a result. The most successful of them all, however, is FIFA 18.
Though the game didn't really provide much innovation when compared to some of its predecessors, its release falling during a World Cup year likely contributed a lot towards its 24 million sales. It also performed well with critics, picking up a few game of the year awards and managing to secure an 84 rating on Metacritic.
13 Pokemon Sun & Moon (25 Million Units)
If releasing two games at a time is a good way to inflate sales, then releasing four may just be pure genius. Though there were a few years between Pokemon Sun & Moon and their Ultra versions, they're all considered part of the seventh generation of Pokemon games, which has now sold more than 25 million units.
Following on from the hugely successful Pokemon X & Y, Sun & Moon introduced regional forms to the series and were also the last mainline Pokemon games to be released on the 3DS. It seems increasingly likely that Sword & Shield will at some point surpass them in sales, although for now, at least, the eighth gen games fall just a little short, with around 21 million sales between them.
12 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (26.5 Million Units)
Following the critical and commercial success of Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops, expectations were high for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Though perhaps not quite on the same level as its predecessors in the gameplay department, the game largely lived up to those expectations and sold millions of copies as a result.
Across all platforms, the game shifted an impressive 26.5 million units, just edging out its predecessor to become the series' second best selling entry of all time. In total, the franchise has now sold more than 400 million copies, making it the third best selling video game series in history behind only Mario and Tetris.
11 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (30 Million Units)
The Modern Warfare reboot released on October 25th, 2019, and earned over $600 million in sales within its first three days, making it the best digital opening in Activision's history. Reviewers praised the game's faithful re-imagining of the original and most players seemed to be in agreement that this was one of the best Call of Duty games yet.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has since gone on to generate over $1 billion in revenue, with over 30 million copies sold. This makes it one of the most successful Call of Duty titles in the franchise's history, as well as one of the best selling games of 2020.
10 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (30 Million Units)
Following a handful of delays, 2015's Game of the Year released on May 19th, 2015 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 with a release on the Nintendo Switch coming in 2019. The Witcher 3 also received two content-packed expansions which were later bundled with the game as a complete edition.
CD Projekt Red's RPG surrounding a silver-haired monster-slaying Witcher, his horse, and a massive collection of Gwent cards had over 1.5 million pre-orders prior to its launch and has since gone on to sell over 30 million copies, thanks in large to its DLC and the Netflix series which premiered in 2019.
9 Diablo 3 (30 Million Units)
In 2012, Blizzard Entertainment launched Diablo III. The game arrived more than a decade on from the series' second installment, with console ports following over the next few years. The game even got a Nintendo Switch release in 2018 in the form of the Diablo III: Eternal Collection.
With such a massive gap between titles, anticipation was high, and it showed when the third entry released on May 15th. Diablo III became one of the most pre-ordered PC games on Amazon and has since outsold titles including Grand Theft Auto IV, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide,
8 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (30 Million Units)
On 11/11/11, Elder Scrolls fans were finally able to get their hands on the series fifth mainline installment. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released with expectant Dragonborn across the globe lining up in front of stores for days in advance. The highly anticipated title was the latest open-world adventure crafted by Todd Howard and Bethesda.
Having a series of re-releases and just as many patches as Cyberpunk 2077 and its game-breaking bugs, Skyrim originally released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation. It has since become playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch, and sold well over 30 million units across all platforms.
7 Animal Crossing: New Horizons (32.5 Million Units)
Despite falling a little short of Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild in terms of critical reception, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has outsold them both when it comes to raw unit sales. At the time of writing, it has shifted more than 32 and a half million copies, which also places it in the 20 best selling video games of all time.
The game is bigger and better than its predecessors in almost every way, giving each player their own island to shape and populate as they please. Sales were likely helped by the fact that the game released right at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic too, with people all over the world stuck inside for months with very little else to do.
6 Terraria (35 Million Units)
Re-Logic released Terraria on May 16th, 2011 for the PC and have since has ported it to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, and most mobile devices. The indie title sold an impressive 200,000 copies within the first week of its release and has now sold more than 35 million copies.
These figures make Terraria one of the 15 best-selling video games of all-time, beating out the likes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Considering the aforementioned titles had far bigger budgets, this is an incredibly impressive feat.
5 Red Dead Redemption 2 (37 Million Units)
The long-awaited sequel to Rockstar's 2010 open-world western, Red Dead Redemption 2 released on October 26th, 2018. The game follows outlaw Arthur Morgan as he, the protagonist from the first Red Dead Redemption game, John Marston, and the rest of their gang make their way through 1899 and the decline of the Wild West.
Following its release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018, the game generated over $700 million in revenue within its first three days on the market. It has since been made available to PC and Stadia users and has shipped over 37 million copies, cementing its place as one of the best selling video games of the past decade.
4 Mario Kart 8 (44 Million Units)
Nintendo released the eighth mainline entry in its long-running kart racing series for the Wii U on May 29th 2014. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Mario Kart 8 quickly became the best-selling Wii U game of all time. It sold more than 8 million copies, which is almost 3 million more than the next best selling game, Super Mario 3D World.
Debuting on the Nintendo Switch in 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an enhanced version of the game, which, like its predecessor, is also the best selling on its console. According to figures from Nintendo, it's now sold more than 35 million copies on Switch alone, meaning a combined total of around 44 million units sold.
3 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (70 Million Units)
The title that really helped popularize the battle royale genre, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds released through Steam on December 20th, 2017 and soon made its way to other platforms. Since its launch, the game has sold over 70 million copies, which is more than Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey and The Last of Us combined.
Battlegrounds made over $10 million within the first three days of its Windows early access release in early 2017 and has generated over $4 billion since. With over 300 million downloads worldwide, the game sits in the top 5 best-selling video games of all-time, behind only Wii Sports, Tetris, and two of the decade's other big hitters.
2 Grand Theft Auto V (145 Million Units)
Rockstar Games released the fifth mainline installment in its hugely successful series on September 17th, 2013. Originally playable only on seventh generation consoles, Grand Theft Auto V has since been ported to eighth and ninth gen systems as well as PC, accumulating over six billion dollars worldwide through more than 145 million sales in the process.
Within the first 24 hours of its release, the best-selling digital release on the PS3 collected over $800 million in revenue and nearly one billion within the first three days. The highly anticipated sequel would go on to become the second best-selling video game of all time, with only a single title able to sell more copies.
1 Minecraft (200 Million Units)
Mojang released this blocky, randomly-generated sandbox title for the PC back in 2011, before later porting it over to consoles and handheld devices. These days, Minecraft has over 100 million active users building across the world and has accumulated countless awards throughout its lifetime.
With over 200 million copies sold since launching on November 18th, 2011, Minecraft is the highest-selling video game of all time by some margin, comfortably beating out the likes of Grand Theft Auto V, Tetris, Wii Sports, Pac-Man. Given that the game still remains incredibly popular, that number seems likely to rise higher still.