Blizzard Entertainment is one of the biggest and best game development companies in the world. The massive company began with humble beginnings that started in 1991 when it was founded under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduates of the University of California, Los Angeles - Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce, and Allen Adham.
The studio changed its name in 1994, to Chaos Studios, Inc., before finally becoming the company known today - Blizzard Entertainment. Shortly after that, the studio published their first hit game, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. To this day, Blizzard Entertainment has developed and published 19 games, mostly based in StarCraft, WarCraft, and Diablo universes.
10 Diablo - 2.5 Million
Before the release of Diablo, the studio's expectations for the game were modest, and Blizzard thought that they would sell 100,000 copies. Later, after successful press coverage, the expectations were increased to 500,000. That prospect of it being a massive success was still relatively uncertain. That is, until preorders reached 500,000.
Upon release, Diablo debuted in first place on the sales chart and held that position for the next three months. By September 1998, the game's worldwide sales reached 2 million. From the last available data from the beginning of the 2000s, it sold 2.5 million copies.
9 Warcraft II: Tides Of Darkness - 3 Million
WarCraft was a commercial hit upon release and largely influenced StarCraft in terms of gameplay and storyline. Warcraft II: Tides Of Darkness debuted in second place on the sales chart and was among the ten bestselling during the next several months. It sold 500,000 copies worldwide in the first three months, and by July 1998 the number climbed to 2 million.
Another reason for this commercial success was Warcraft Battlechest, a bundle of the first game, this one, and its expansion. The sales later continued to climb, and the game, to this day sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, with two-thirds of that number sold in the United States.
8 Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos - 3 Million
A critical and commercial success, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos sold one million copies in the first month after release, becoming the fastest-selling PC game in the history at that time, and surpassing a record set by Diablo II. The sales were strongest in the United States, with 1 million copies sold by 2006, while in United Kindom, it sold at least 200,000 copies.
From the last available bit of data, the game's sales were more than 3 million, making it the eighth bestselling Blizzard game. The game was remastered in 2020 under the title, Warcraft III: Reforged, but that didn't go so well.
7 Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - 3 Million
The Frozen Throne is an expansion of Warcraft III, and it introduced improved gameplay and four new campaigns. It eventually became a popular esports game, as well.
The game was the most sold PC game in the first three weeks after release, mainly because of preorders. It sold more than 1 million copies in that year. The game's sales are similar to that of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, around 3 million.
6 Diablo II - 4 Million
Diablo II sold 184,000 copies on the first day of its release. The game sold 1 million copies after just two months, and 2 million after one and a half months. The game ended the release year with 2.75 million copies sold. Because of this astonishing feat, it entered the Guinness World Book of Records for being the fastest-selling PC game ever. Other Blizzard games later broke this record.
The game's positive commercial performance continued, and thanks to Diablo: Battle Chest, a bundle of the first and second Diablo game, worldwide sales broke to more than 4 million copies.
5 StarCraft II - 6 Million
Released to critical acclaim, StarCraft II sold 1 million copies on the day of its release. After two days, Blizzard began selling the game as a digital download on the site, and 500,000 additional units were sold as a result, bringing the number of sold units to 1.5 million. This made StarCraft II the fastest-selling strategy game ever, and sales reached 3 million after a month.
From the last available bit of data, StarCraft II sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. The game was later followed by two expansions, including StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm and StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void.
4 StarCraft - 11 Million
With many regarding it as one of the best and most important video games of all time, StarCraft was published in 1998 and was the bestselling PC game of that year with 1.5 million copies. The game's worldwide sales reached 4 million by July 2001, with the South Korean market accounting for 50 percent of that number.
By May 2007, the game sold 9.5 million copies, while South Korea was still the biggest market. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide, StarCraft is one of the best-selling PC games of all time. A remaster of the game was released in 2017.
3 World Of Warcraft - 12 Million
World of Warcraft was the bestselling PC game in 2005 and 2006. On January 22, 2008, the game had more than 10 million subscribers worldwide with more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and more than 5 million in Asia. Later, however, the subscriber number started to drop. In 2015, there were around 7 million subscribers and at the year's end, the number fell to 5.5 million.
At its peak in 2010, World of Warcraft had 12 million subscribers, which makes it the third bestselling Blizzard game. In addition, it grossed more than 9 billion dollars in revenue, making it a massive commercial success.
2 Diablo III - 30 Million
Before its release, Diablo III broke several presale records and became the most preordered PC game to date on Amazon. The game sold more than 3.5 million copies in the first 24 hours, with sales reaching 6.3 million in the first week. It sold 12 million copies by the end of 2012. Still, Diablo III remains the fastest-selling PC game to date, and also one of the best-selling PC video games of all time with 30 million copies sold worldwide.
An expansion followed in 2014 titled Reaper of Souls, and the Rise of the Necromancer pack came in 2017. Its sequel is currently in development.
1 Overwatch - 50 Million
Overwatch is Blizzard's fourth major franchise. While the studio specializes in RTS and RPG games, this game is proof that it can make a good first-person shooter. Upon release, the game was met with critical acclaim, receiving numerous "game of the year" awards and being the most popular esports game with Overwatch League being its main hub.
Blizzard reported 1 billion dollars in revenue during the first year of the game's release. It also had more than 50 million players after three years, making Overwatch the bestselling Blizzard game.