I have always wondered how games remain relevant for many years after their release. The fact is that many games remain popular either because of their innovative gameplay or the name attached to them.
The bottom line is that games are a product that needs to do well to make profits for companies that create them. If a game stays popular for many years to come, the gaming company will reap the benefit well into the future.
Looking back, I had my fair share of playing some of the best selling video games of all time, and here in this article, you will discover the following best selling games:
- Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
- Wii Sports
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Minecraft
- Tetris
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds rounds out the fifth spot on this list of best-selling video games of all time. I have played PUBG for quite some time, not knowing how popular it is amongst its players and outside the player base.
To date, PUBG has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide, even without counting the number of times players have downloaded the game. For the sake of transparency, PUBG has seen more than 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store alone.
The game is one of the best battle royale first-person shooter games. This gameplay led to the creation of many others that tried to follow the game's success.
More About Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds occur on a map where players gather different items and weapons and use them to eliminate each other. Players fight off to eliminate each other as the map slowly dwindles to a small area. The last remaining player or team in the game wins the match.
Heavily influenced by the Japanese movie Battle Royale, PUBG has been at the top for quite some time now, enjoying many accolades along the way.
Some of which include $4.3 billion in revenue on its mobile version alone and awards such as Best Multiplayer Game, PC Game of the Year in the years since the game was released.
Wii Sports
Nintendo has produced some of the best-selling games of all time, but none could compare to the intense popularity of Wii Sports.
Most of the popular games mentioned on this list are usually available on different platforms but what made Wii Sports very compelling is that it is pretty much restricted into one platform - the Nintendo Wii.
Not everyone can afford to buy a Nintendo Wii, yet Wii Sports has collectively made it into the top of the list. Since its launch, Wii Sports has sold more than 80 million copies and became one of the top-selling games sold within an exclusive platform - a feat that has not been rivaled for many years.
The game also bears the title of the best-selling Nintendo game of all time.
More About Wii Sports
Wii Sports is a sports simulation game where you play five different sports, including golf, boxing, baseball, bowling, and tennis. Each player will have their own Wii Remote to control the equipment for each sport.
In the game, the player will have to move in the same manner as how it is being played in real life.
The game is also marketed towards health and wellness for its highly physical nature. Wii Sports is a viral game to play in social gatherings as it induces friendly competition amongst its participants.
Grand Theft Auto V
I was pleasantly surprised that a game as violent yet intriguing as Grand Theft Auto made this list. In February 2021, GTA V has sold more than 140 million copies worldwide and is the third video game to cross the 100 million mark. GTA V has also broken a lot of records ever since it was released.
GTA V has been released for more than seven years, and it is still one of the most profitable games for Rockstar Games out of all the games they have produced. The game was marketed so well and was highly anticipated by its loyal fans and gamers alike that it ultimately broke industry records when released.
The game became the fastest-selling product based on entertainment in history by earning more than $800 million on its first day and crossing the billion-dollar mark in the following days after its release.
The game is also a critical masterpiece, with critics praising the open world, gameplay, multiple protagonist storyline, and diversity of its lead characters.
More About Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V is played from a third-person or a first-person perspective, depending on our choice. The game centers around different missions, including heists and other crime-related activities.
I get to play up to three different protagonists throughout the game, and each of them has their specific storylines that I can follow.
The game follows Michael Townley and Trevor Phillips as they begin a new life after faking their deaths from a botched robbery earlier. Soon, their fates intertwine when both decide to turn back to a life of crime to solve many of their problems in life.
Minecraft
Every kid around the world knows that the next best-selling game of all time. Minecraft has sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and it doesn't surprise me one single bit. Minecraft has taken the world by storm with its genre-bending performance.
Minecraft is a sandbox game where players get to do what they want within the game. Whether I want to gather wood to build my own home or farm vegetables and grow trees to produce fruits, I can do almost everything within the game.
The overall simple gameplay is its main draw hence why it is the perfect game for kids to play. Another reason why it has garnered a lot of sales is its availability on different platforms.
I've seen kids playing Minecraft on their computers, PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, even on Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita.
More About Minecraft
Released in November 2011, I would argue that Minecraft would be the best-selling video game of all time based on its 200 million copies sold worldwide under one single game. Minecraft has enjoyed over 126 million active users in 2020 alone, and despite its growing age, the game continues to grow and expand.
Players of Minecraft explore a 3D blocky world where they get to discover and explore the different landscapes to gather materials, craft items, fight mobs, build structures, and many other activities. The game is critically acclaimed for its creative freedom and many of its complex crafting systems with open-ended gameplay where each player will have their unique destiny.
I wouldn't be surprised that Minecraft would take the lead in becoming one of the most popular video games to have ever been created in the following years.
Tetris
I was shocked to discover that the best-selling video game of all time came out to be one of the simplest games to have ever been created. Tetris is known as the best-selling video game in history, and so far, no other game has come close to beating it.
While it has been years since the game has been released and has that advantage, it never crossed my mind that this game could be so popular to the point that it sold more than most of the games on this list. Released in June of 1984, Tetris was first introduced to Elektronika 60 from the USSR.
Tetris was a classic puzzle game where players must land each piece correctly to form a line. When a line is formed, it disappears, allowing more space; however, the puzzle pieces stack together when players fail to create a line until it reaches the top and the game ends.
Modern variations of Tetris are still being played today as a testament to the game's overall popularity. It is one of those games that I have played in my childhood years and never expected it to become one of the most popular video games worldwide.
More About Tetris
Once Tetris was released, it was only a matter of time before the game became one of the world's most popular. I think its overall simplicity and less-demanding mechanics and graphics paved the way for its eventual rise in interest and overall sales. To this day, Tetris has sold more than 500 million copies.
Some might argue that there are so many variations of the game ever since it was released, but the truth is, the core gameplay of Tetris has never changed; therefore, it is still the same game that I played when it was released, during my childhood years, and to this very day.
Speaking of modern variations, Tetris games are still very lucrative these days. Most of the Tetris games that I have encountered, whether or mobile or on other platforms, are either very popular or have sold many copies. Tetris on mobile devices has garnered over 425 million paid downloads, according to the managing director of the Tetris Company.
Conclusion
As you may have noticed, these games remain relevant not only for their popularity but their innovation. Many of the games on this list broke many barriers and introduced different gameplay that players like me loved to play and would continue to play, adding more to its ever-growing number.
