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 withSuper MarioandPokemonrunning across television screens.
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FromGrand Theft Auto Vbecoming the fastest-selling entertainment product in history toPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundshaving 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 July 10, 2025, 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.
15The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (24 Million Units)
Considered by some to be the bestZeldagame of all time,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildreleased 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 Metacriticand has picked up countless awards since its release.
14FIFA 18 (24 Million Units)
When it comes to sports simulation games,few series have sold quite as many copies asFIFA. 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, isFIFA 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 towardsits 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.
13Pokemon 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 betweenPokemon Sun & Moonand theirUltraversions, they’re all considered part of the seventh generation ofPokemongames,which has now sold more than 25 million units.
Following on from the hugely successfulPokemon X & Y,Sun & Moonintroduced regional forms to the seriesand were also the lastmainlinePokemongames to be released on the 3DS. It seems increasingly likely thatSword & Shieldwill 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.
12Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (26.5 Million Units)
Following the critical and commercial success ofModern Warfare 2andBlack Ops, expectations were high forCall 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.
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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 onlyMarioandTetris.
11Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (30 Million Units)
TheModern Warfarereboot released on October 25th, 2019, and earnedover $600 million in saleswithin 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 Warfarehas since gone on to generate over $1 billion in revenue, with over 30 million copies sold. This makes it one of the most successfulCall of Dutytitles in the franchise’s history, as well as one ofthe best selling games of 2020.
10The 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 3also 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 sellover 30 million copies, thanks in large to its DLC andthe Netflix serieswhich premiered in 2019.
9Diablo 3 (30 Million Units)
In 2012, Blizzard Entertainment launchedDiablo 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 theDiablo 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 IIIbecame one of the most pre-ordered PC games on Amazon and has since outsold titles includingGrand Theft Auto IV, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, withover 30 million copies sold worldwide,
8The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (30 Million Units)
On 11/11/11,Elder Scrollsfans were finally able to get their hands on the series fifth mainline installment.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimreleased 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.
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Having a series of re-releases and just as many patches asCyberpunk 2077and its game-breaking bugs,Skyrimoriginally released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation. It has since become playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch, andsold well over 30 million unitsacross all platforms.
7Animal Crossing: New Horizons (32.5 Million Units)
Despite falling a little short ofSuper Mario OdysseyandBreath of the Wildin terms of critical reception,Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas 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.
6Terraria (35 Million Units)
Re-Logic releasedTerrariaon 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 soldmore than 35 million copies.
These figures makeTerrariaone of the 15 best-selling video games of all-time, beating out the likes ofThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, andAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. Considering the aforementioned titles had far bigger budgets, this is an incredibly impressive feat.
