Video games have made a tremendous impact on the world in the past few decades.
Going from a niche hobby to one of the most popular forms of entertainment on the planet, games like Fortnite will have a lasting cultural impact on present generations.
The concept of free-to-play games will be extremely popular in 2023. Many of the most played titles can be found on mobile app stores, computers, and even consoles without charge.
Game developers want to introduce their titles to an audience and then get them to pay for microtransactions within games. Such a concept was not very popular in the past.
If you were hoping to play a top-rated or popular title, you had to buy the game. The best-selling games were usually the ones with the most lasting popularity.
Below is our rundown of the five highest-selling games in history.
1. Minecraft
No game in history has sold more copies than Minecraft, with a total of 240 million copies purchased around the world since its first release in 2011. The game, made by Mojang Studios in Sweden, is a huge hit among gamers of every genre.
The beauty of a game such as Minecraft is that even if you were not an avid gamer in the past, you can pick it up and have a blast. The gameplay is extremely easy to understand, as you are building a house, barn, commercial building, or anything that you may desire.
When people first see the graphics of Minecraft, they assume the game came out in 2001, not 2011. The graphics, while not on par with AAA titles, are what makes Minecraft unique and appealing. Such graphics also mean that playing it on various platforms and older devices is possible.
2. Grand Theft Auto V
With 170 million copies sold around the world, Grand Theft Auto V is a historic game within one of the most popular and beloved gaming franchises in history. The GTA series is in the “best” lists of nearly every gamer in the world, as anyone who ever owned a console or gaming PC likely played one of the editions as they were growing up.
Rockstar does have many popular games on the market these days, but the studio made its name thanks to the GTA series. The first few editions of the series were successful, but they were not behemoths. As the gameplay became more immersive and the action involved online and multiplayer game modes, the player base shot through the roof.
Fans of the GTA series are eagerly anticipating the latest edition in the franchise. Given that a great deal of time has passed since the last release of a Grand Theft Auto game, people will likely be pre-ordering the new game as soon as it comes out. There is a solid chance it may be included in such a list in two or three years.
3. Tetris
The oldest game on this list, both in terms of its release date and the feel of its gameplay, Tetris has sold over 150 million copies around the world. The brainchild of Russian software engineer Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris was made to allow a computing center at the Russian Academy to properly test new hardware before releasing it for wider use.
While that may have been the initial purpose of Tetris, it soon became one of the most beloved and talked-about games on the planet. Many believe the simplicity of the Tetris gameplay is what helped it stand out from the other games that were popular at the time.
Many of the titles avid gamers played required a lot of skill and attention to detail to master. Tetris was different, as you could pick up a console or handheld device and start playing within minutes without needing to know complicated rules or button combinations.
4. Wii Sports
With over 80 million copies sold, Nintendo had a smash hit with Wii Sports when the Wii console was at the peak of its popularity. Many people are surprised that newer versions of the Wii have not been released onto the market, but there is a suggestion that virtual reality headsets have taken up that space within the market.
The mid to late 2000s was all about the Wii, with people around the world buying the console so they could play fun and active games alone or with friends. Wii Sports was the most popular title on the console, as you could play any number of sports at home.
Players only had to hold a couple of controllers, and they were in the thick of the action. They could be playing a game of doubles tennis, a round of bowling, or any number of fun sports games.
5. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Similar to Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the game that popularized the concept of Battle Royale. A game mode where you are pitted against many other online players on a single map, Battle Royale is what made Fortnite one of the most popular games of all time.
While PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds did lose out to Fortnite for cultural impact in many parts of the world, it is still a hugely successful and beloved game. Given that PUBG is now free to play, its final sales figure will sit at 70 million copies.
