10 Most Profitable Video Games of All Time

What are the 10 most profitable video games of all time? As technology advances and computer power becomes cheaper and easier to manufacture, the video game industry is embracing the changes and releasing games with more and more sophisticated gameplay, enhanced graphics, and complex in-game worlds and AI-controlled characters.

As is the case with books and movies, consumers’ video game tastes vary significantly, so companies release a wide variety of games in terms of genre, gameplay, graphics, storylines, etc. Nevertheless, over the years, a number of games have become blockbuster series and maintained their positions as the most popular and best-selling games, despite the fact that many other hits were released after them.

According to a report by SuperData, in 2016, the digital games market hit $91 billion in revenue, with $41 billion being spent on mobile games. As consumers more often choose to download games directly to their consoles, companies can enjoy stronger margins and generate more revenue though additional content and in-game micro-transactions.

Investors also seem to be optimistic about the future of video game companies. In March 2016, the PureFunds® Video Game Tech ETF (NYSEARCA:GAMR) began trading and has advanced by over 35% since. GAMR is an exchange-traded fund, which tracks a diversified portfolio of video game companies, including Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), Take Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU), and Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), as well as a number of companies listed on foreign exchanges like Ubisoft Entertainment and NC Soft Corp. Individual names, such as Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), and Take Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO), have seen their stock prices skyrocket over the last five years, each having advanced by between 300% and 450%.

For video game companies, releasing hits like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto V have not been the only factors contributing to their growth. Investors have also appreciated the companies’ changes to their business models, thanks to the adoption of online gaming and micro-transactions, which allows users to access new content and for companies to boost their revenue.

With this in mind, let’s proceed to discussing the 10 most profitable video games of all time. The games are sorted based on the number of copies sold (or paid downloads), which may not be the best way to reflect the revenue they generated in the modern age (for that you can see our list of the 12 highest grossing video games of all time). Also, we excluded multiple games from the same franchise, so the list isn’t dominated by one or two series, such as the Grand Theft Auto and Super Mario Bros. series, but we have listed the top selling game in each series. Now then, head to the next page to begin the countdown.

10. Overwatch

Number of copies sold: 25 million

Overwatch was released in May 2016 and by November it had already reached 20 million registered users (the number of units sold may be smaller). The number of users was reached faster than any game ever released by Blizzard Entertainment. In January, the company, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), announced that the game had reached 25 million registered users. More about the game can be seen in the trailer below.

9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Number of copies sold: 26.5 million

Also published by Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), and developed by Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare that ranks 9th in our list of  most profitable video games of all time has managed to sell 26.5 million copies, becoming the best-selling game in the franchise, only slightly outranking Call of Duty: Black Ops, which sold 26.2 million units.

T-7. Diablo III

Number of copies sold: 30 million

Diablo III is the third edition of the Diablo franchise, and is yet again developed by Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s subsidiary, Blizzard Entertainment. The game was released in 2012 and was one of the best selling games that year with 12 million copies sold, including 3.5 million copies in the first 24 hours after release and 6.3 million copies in the first week, making it one of the fastest-selling games in history.

T-7. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Number of copies sold: 30 million

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is next in our list of  most profitable video games of all time. It was published in 2011 by Bethesda Softworks and was developed by Bethesda Game Studios. The game was highly acclaimed by critics and sold seven million copies within the first week of its release. The company also released three DLC add-ons and in 2016 it released a remastered version of the game, which included all three DLC expansions. This year, Bethesda plans to release a version of Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch.

6. Mario Kart Wii

Number of copies sold: 36.40 million

We are continuing our list of  most profitable video games of all time with Mario Kart Wii that is the sixth installment in the popular Mario Kart racing battle series, and was developed and published by Nintendo. The game is a spinoff of the broader Mario franchise, as it uses the same characters from the series, but a different gameplay style (the Mario series has been spun off into several other game genres as well, including fighting games, party games, and RPGs).

5. Super Mario

Number of copies sold: 40.24 million

Super Mario is the core of Nintendo Co., Ltd (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NTDOY)‘s Mario franchise, which was first released in 1985. The first game sold 40.24 million copies on the Nintendo Entertainment System, ranking it as one of the most profitable video games of all time. Updated versions of the original title were released decades later, including New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS in 2006, which registered 30.8 million units sold, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, released in 2009 for the Wii, which sold 29.30 million games. Nintendo also had a number of other games with lower sales, like Super Mario Land, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, etc. Overall, Nintendo Co., Ltd (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NTDOY)’s Mario games have sold approximately 311.46 million copies.

4. Grand Theft Auto V

Number of copies sold: 75 million

Released in 2013 by Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO), Grand Theft Auto V that ranks 4th in our list of  most profitable video games of all time is the best selling installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. It is followed by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was released in 2004 and has registered around 27.5 million units sold. GTA V generated around $800 million in revenue in the first 24 hours of its release (around 11.2 million copies were sold) and it continues to be a cash cow for Take Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) due to its online multiplayer and micro-transactions.

3. Wii Sports

Number of copies sold: 82.78 million

Wii Sports ranks third on our list of  most profitable video games of all time. It was the first game in the Wii “physical simulation” style of video games released in 2006 to help launch Nintendo Co., Ltd (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NTDOY)’s Wii console. Its sequel, Wii Sports Resort was released in 2009 and raked in 32.80 million units sold. Wii Sports showcases a collection of sports simulations, which allow users to test the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote.

2. Minecraft

Number of copies sold: 122 million

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s Minecraft is a “sandbox” video game, which allows players to choose whatever they want to do, however they want to do it. It has a number of game modes and activities, and players can build constructions out of textured cubes. The game won many awards and received a lot of praise from critics. Despite the huge number of units sold, Minecraft is unlikely to stop, as its developer Mojang was acquired by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in 2014 for $2.5 billion. In addition, the game is available on a multitude of platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV (because, why not?).

1. Tetris

Number of copies sold: 495 million

Russians gave the world vodka and the current U.S President. In addition, they gave us Tetris, the number one in our list of  most profitable video games of all time, with 495 million copies sold since it was released in 1984. The game is available on almost every platform imaginable and it can even be played on an oscilloscope, where it can be accessed as an Easter egg. Tetris was the first entertainment software exported from the USSR to the U.S, but its developer, Alexei Pajitnov, was only able to start collecting royalties in 1996.

In this way, due to its simplicity and the nostalgic sentiment it spurs in players, Tetris remains to the most profitable video game of all time based on the number of units sold and it’s unlikely that its impressive number of 495 million copies sold will be beaten any time soon, despite (or maybe due to) the fact that the game hasn’t changed in decades.

Disclosure: None