The ten best-selling video game series of all time, ranked by the latest publisher-reported unit sales: from Mario's 907.7 million down to Final Fantasy's 212 million at number ten.
Mario is the best-selling video game franchise of all time, with at least 907.7 million units sold as of March 2026, according to Guinness World Records. Tetris is second at 520 million and Pokémon third at 515 million. The ranking uses cumulative units sold or shipped across all titles, from each publisher's latest disclosed figure, so as-of dates vary.
The best-selling video game franchises have moved hundreds of millions of copies across decades and hardware generations. Mario leads by a wide margin at at least 907.7 million units, according to Guinness World Records. Behind it, Tetris (520 million), Pokémon (515 million) and Call of Duty (500 million) sit within 20 million units of each other. This list ranks franchises by the most recent cumulative unit figure their publisher or rights holder has disclosed. These figures are not all from the same date: the oldest (FIFA, February 2021) is more than five years older than the newest (Minecraft, September 2026). That makes the close calls in the middle and at the bottom of the list less certain than the gaps suggest, and the methodology explains each one.
Nintendo's mascot is the best-selling video game franchise by a wide margin. Guinness World Records puts combined sales of all Mario series games and spin-offs at at least 907.7 million units as of March 2026. That includes 14.03 million from Mario Kart World, the best-selling Switch 2 game.
Alexey Pajitnov's 1984 puzzle game has passed 520 million units sold, according to The Tetris Company. It has been released on more than 50 platforms. Most of that total comes from paid mobile downloads, not boxed copies, and the company has not published a breakdown.
The Pokémon Company reports total shipments of all Pokémon video games at over 515 million units as of March 2026. That is up 26 million in a year, from 489 million in March 2025. At that pace, Pokémon is likely to pass Tetris's unchanged 520 million figure soon.
Activision said in October 2024, at the launch of Black Ops 6, that Call of Duty had sold more than 500 million copies since 2003. Free-to-play downloads such as Warzone and Call of Duty: Mobile are not counted. Activision has not updated the total since, so this is a two-year-old floor.
Take-Two reports that the Grand Theft Auto series has sold-in nearly 475 million units as of its quarter ended June 30, 2026. Grand Theft Auto V alone accounts for over 230 million of them.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said on September 26, 2026 that Minecraft has sold more than 425 million copies over its 17-year history. That is up from 350 million in April 2025. The figure is for Minecraft itself; Microsoft has not published a total that adds spin-offs such as Minecraft Dungeons.
EA said in February 2021 that its FIFA series had passed 325 million copies sold since 1993. That is the last franchise-wide total EA has published. It does not include anything released since, including the EA Sports FC games that replaced the FIFA name in 2023, so the real combined total is higher.
Ubisoft announced in July 2026, after Black Flag Resynced launched, that the Assassin's Creed series had sold more than 250 million games since 2007. The series passed 200 million in 2022.
Capcom's results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 put the Resident Evil series at 213 million units. That puts it just ahead of Final Fantasy. In the same report, the Resident Evil 2 remake stood at 19.75 million and the new Resident Evil Requiem at 8.06 million.
Square Enix announced in May 2026 that the Final Fantasy series had sold more than 212 million units worldwide. It reported 200 million in March 2025, 203 million in July 2025 and 207 million in December 2025. The series is only one million units behind Resident Evil, and the two figures are from different dates.
| # | Name | Publisher | First release | Figure as of | Figure basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario | Nintendo | 1981 | March 10, 2026 | At least 907.7M (Guinness World Records) |
| 2 | Tetris | The Tetris Company (multiple licensees) | 1984 | June 2025 (figure unchanged since 2022) | Over 520M units sold, incl. paid mobile downloads (rights holder) |
| 3 | Pokémon | Nintendo / The Pokémon Company | 1996 | March 2026 | Over 515M units shipped (The Pokémon Company) |
| 4 | Call of Duty | Activision (Microsoft) | 2003 | October 2024 | Over 500M copies sold, excl. free-to-play (Activision) |
| 5 | Grand Theft Auto | Rockstar Games (Take-Two) | 1997 | June 30, 2026 | Nearly 475M units sold-in (Take-Two) |
| 6 | Minecraft | Mojang (Microsoft) | 2011 | September 26, 2026 | Over 425M copies sold (Xbox / Mojang) |
| 7 | FIFA / EA Sports FC | Electronic Arts | 1993 | February 2021 | Over 325M copies, FIFA-branded games only (EA) |
| 8 | Assassin's Creed | Ubisoft | 2007 | July 2026 | Over 250M games sold (Ubisoft) |
| 9 | Resident Evil | Capcom | 1996 | June 30, 2026 | 213M units (Capcom) |
| 10 | Final Fantasy | Square Enix | 1987 | May 2026 | Over 212M units (Square Enix) |
Franchises are ranked by cumulative worldwide units sold or shipped across all titles in the series, using the latest figure disclosed by the publisher or rights holder (or, for Mario, Guinness World Records, because Nintendo does not publish a franchise-wide total). Where we could not reach a primary page, we cite the trade report of that disclosure and give its as-of date. Most publishers count shipments to retail plus digital sales (Take-Two calls this 'sold-in'), not copies bought by consumers. Players, monthly users and free-to-play downloads are excluded. That is why Sonic (whose Sega total includes free downloads) and The Sims 4 player counts do not qualify. Tetris is included at the rights holder's 520 million 'units sold'. In 2014, The Tetris Company's Henk Rogers said 425 million of its sales were paid mobile downloads, with free-to-play versions not counted. The company does not publish a breakdown, though, and much of the total comes from low-priced feature-phone sales. Several figures are floors or approximations. Mario is 'at least' 907.7 million (Guinness World Records, March 2026, including 14.03 million from Mario Kart World). Pokémon, Call of Duty, Minecraft, Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy are 'more than' figures. Grand Theft Auto's is 'nearly' 475 million. Call of Duty's 500 million dates from October 2024, and Activision has published no newer total. Its lead over Grand Theft Auto may therefore be smaller than shown, or already gone. Tetris (520 million, unchanged since 2022) and Pokémon (515 million, March 2026) are effectively tied. The FIFA figure (325 million, February 2021) covers FIFA-branded games only. It excludes everything since then, including the EA Sports FC releases, because EA has not published a combined total. Tenth place is the closest call. Resident Evil (213 million, June 30, 2026) and Final Fantasy (212 million, Square Enix, May 2026) are one million units apart on different dates. The Sims (reported at more than 200 million in February 2020, Guinness World Records) and Lego games (about 200 million, with no current publisher figure) may be close. They are left out because no publisher-attributed total newer than 2020 exists for either.
Mario. Guinness World Records puts combined sales of Nintendo's Mario series games and spin-offs at at least 907.7 million units as of March 2026, including Mario Kart World. Next are Tetris (over 520 million), Pokémon (over 515 million) and Call of Duty (over 500 million).
The Tetris Company reports over 520 million units sold, and The Pokémon Company reports over 515 million as of March 2026. The two are effectively tied. Tetris's figure has not changed since 2022 and is mostly paid mobile downloads, while Pokémon grew by 26 million units in its latest year. Pokémon will likely pass Tetris at its next update.
Wii Sports (about 83 million copies) is a single game, not a franchise. The Sims was reported at more than 200 million in February 2020, and Lego games at about 200 million, but neither has a newer publisher-attributed total. Both are below Final Fantasy's 212 million on the figures available.
We use the cumulative units that publishers report, which are usually shipments to retail plus digital sales. Take-Two calls this 'sold-in'. Player counts, monthly users and free-to-play downloads are excluded. Publishers update on different schedules, so each figure on this list carries its own as-of date.
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