When developers launched games in the 80s and 90s, they probably didn't think long-term, but thought about what those games could be outside of the given platform. For example, Square thought of the original Final Fantasy ported to more consoles than they had on their collective fingers? Probably not, but with the change of the video game market some games had long legs.
10 games that exceeded unrealistically high expectations
The hype was through the roof for these video games, and somehow they still managed to exceed all expectations.
Some games also had the luxury of having world-breaking sales for decades, which helped them become more remembered in the video game cultural zeitgeist. The following are not the best selling games of all time in order. Rather, they are some of the best-selling games over a long period, with some cross-contamination in between.
It's not exactly easy to find sales data for all of these games, but based on what's out there, here's how things shook out.
Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.
Start
Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.
Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Minecraft
An obvious example
Anyone who has spoken to a child in the past decade can vouch for that Minecraft on their desktops, tablets, game consoles and so on. It's as ubiquitous as watching Netflix download on any hardware. The game soft-launched the wider beta in 2009, with Minecraft reached its 1.0 status in 2011.
Although it didn't reach the top ten slots of the best-selling games at first, it managed to reach its peak between 2013 and 2015, and it consistently sells year after year, making it arguably the best-selling game of all time. By 2020, the game had reached 200 million units sold, and it has only grown since then. Gamers, in 2026, are still rapidly engaging with it on any number of platforms and letting their creative juices flow.
Balanced with longevity
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is another game that launched in 2011, and thanks to Bethesda not letting it die, it's been re-released in more ways than anyone could count on their hands. It managed to enter the best selling games of 2011, which is amazing considering it only had two months to do so.
By 2023, it is estimated to be around 60 million units. This is, of course, taking into account all versions and platforms, since in 2023 probably no one bought a new Xbox 360 copy. Even with that caveat, it's still impressive, goes to show how important it is The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is for open world RPG fans.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Online mode has helped it survive
Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013, and it's another example of a publisher/developer who won't let their child die. There are many ways to play the game now, and what has really kept the game selling is the online mode, which is still getting updates.
Grand Theft Auto 5 managed to top the charts between 2013 and 2017 with an incredible five-year streak, not to mention topping it again in 2020. With rumors of delays all around Grand Theft Auto 6, Grand Theft Auto 5 could see a similar peak for those impatient to keep waiting for the next big one Grand Theft Auto experience.
Monday 2
Rob banks and wallets
Grand Theft Auto 5 wasn't the only 2013 game to survive on its online raid-based gameplay, as it was also Monday 2 ever since launch. Gameplay is much simpler in this online-focused game, where players team up with others online to get a big payday from bank robberies and other various scams.
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While the exact numbers leading up to 2025's 55M celebration are unclear, what is known is that the game sold at least 15 million units between 2023 and 2025 alone. What's even more astounding is that the developer also launched Monday 3 in 2023, which could have inadvertently boosted sales of its predecessor.
Mario Kart 8
Switch up the expectations
Mario Kart 8 became one of the best-selling games on the Wii U over the course of its short life when it launched in 2014. For a console that no one bought, the switch rate was huge, but the more astonishing feat was when the enhanced version was released on the Switch in 2017, called Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
It managed to reach high sales in 2017, 2019 and 2021 on all platforms, which can be attributed to Nintendo putting out DLC for it until 2023. It exceeded all the success that the Wii U version had, and it will be interesting to see if Mario Kart World on Switch 2 could ever hope to reach those heights.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Netflix saved the day
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released in 2015, and it never made it to any of the top ten slots despite being reviewed as one of the best games of 2015. It continues to amaze new players with its inner action battle.
Over the years, it continued to sell and play consistently, albeit in smaller numbers, but something changed in 2019, which is the first year that Netflix released its live-action show based on The Witcher books. That's when sales started to pick up The Witcher 3: Wild Huntwith the game selling around 10 million units per year between 2021 and 2025, and for a game that's a decade old by 2025, that's incredible.
Monitoring
A confusing story
Monitoring
8/10
- Released
-
24 May 2016
- ESRB
-
T for Teen: Blood, Tobacco Use, Violence (Online Interactions Not Rated)
Monitoring was released in 2016, which managed to make it the best-selling games of that year. It's not surprising, considering that anything released by Blizzard tends to have a high sales rate. Monitoring sold a lot in 2016, and in 2021 it reached 60 million, which is quite a rise.
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Then things got a little complicated with the launch of its sequel, Overwatch 2in Early Access 2022, which effectively shut down the original's servers despite all those sales. Overwatch 2 then officially launched in 2023 and changed its name to just Monitoring year 2026. Release history aside, the original Overwatch's climb to success in its short stint will go down in the video game history books.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Everyone is here
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched in 2018 exclusively for the Switch, and for two years in a row it topped the sales charts. Between 2020 and 2025, it went on to sell around 15 million more units, reaching around 36 million over eight years. It might not be Minecraft numbers, but for a fighting game and for the franchise as a whole, this was a big win for Nintendo.
It really helped that sales pitch too Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought back every single character and then added more to it over time, along with the solid controls and good balance between all the characters.
Red Dead Redemption 2
A narrative western like no other
Rockstar manager squeaks out another heavy trainer, Red Dead Redemption 2who had less time to ruminate. It also has an online component, although it has been less successful, with the selling point of this game being the rich story and world design.
There is a rare amount of documentation from Rockstar to let fans see how things have grown since its debut in 2018. The amount sold year after year varied between 7 million and 11 million on average until 2025, where it now stands at 82 million units sold. At a time when the western is largely dead as a genre in all media, it is something to study.
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