The video game industry has seen immense growth over the past several years. As technology advances and gaming becomes more mainstream, both game sales and revenue continue to reach new heights. Recent sales statistics and facts illustrate just how far the industry has come.
Highlights
● Minecraft retains its spot as the best-selling video game ever, now with over 250 million copies sold.
● Grand Theft Auto V has grossed over $7 billion total, making it the most profitable entertainment release in history.
● There are now 4 video games that have sold over 100 million copies – Minecraft, Tetris, GTA V, and Wii Sports.
● The Mario franchise has now topped 800 million total sales, further cementing its status as the best-selling gaming franchise.
● Sony’s PlayStation 5 exclusives Demon’s Souls and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart have both passed 1.5 million sales
apiece.
All-Time Sales Records
Minecraft Surpasses 250 Million Copies Sold
The indie sandbox creation game Minecraft has already broken numerous records, but in 2024 it reached yet another milestone – over 250 million copies sold across all platforms. Released originally in 2009, Minecraft has seen immense popularity that continues over a decade later. It now boasts over 140 million monthly active players as well.
Grand Theft Auto V Revenues Top $7 Billion
While Minecraft leads in total unit sales, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V has brought in the most total revenue of any entertainment release in history. Initially launched in 2013, GTA V has now grossed over $7 billion from game sales and recurring consumer spending. Rockstar has continued to support it with updates, ports to new consoles, and the maintainence of GTA Online. This consistent post-launch monetization has greatly contributed to its record financial success.
4 Games Break 100 Million Lifetime Sales
As of 2024, only 4 video games have managed to sell over 100 million copies – Minecraft, Tetris, Grand Theft Auto V, and Nintendo’s Wii Sports pack-in title. Both Minecraft and GTA V hit this milestone within the past 2 years. Wii Sports first passed 100 million back in 2009, meaning only Tetris has held that record longer after breaking it in 2003. Nevertheless, this is still an incredibly exclusive sales club to date.
Mario Franchise Tops 800 Million Lifetime Sales
Nintendo’s mascot Mario celebrated his 35th anniversary recently, coinciding with the franchise hitting yet another massive sales milestone – over 800 million total game sales. This covers more than 200 games over that period starring the iconic plumber. Just the main Super Mario series of platformers accounts for over 500 million of that by itself. Mario remains not just video games’ most famous character, but also the one that has sold the most.
Best Selling Games By Platform
PlayStation 5: Demon’s Souls and Ratchet & Clank Over 1.5 Million Each
Sony’s PlayStation 5 launched in late 2020 with Spider-Man: Miles Morales as its big system-seller. In 2024 though, two other exclusives have stepped into the spotlight sales-wise – the Demon’s Souls remake and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Both have passed 1.5 million copies sold to lead PS5-only releases. Astro’s Playroom is likely up there as well since it was pre-installed on every console. PS5 sales themselves continue to move swiftly when inventory allows, having crossed 20 million sold in July.
Call of Duty Still #1 in Recent Years
The first-person shooter series Call of Duty continues to dominate yearly best selling game charts, supported heavily by its reliably-released annual sequels. 2021’s Call of Duty: Vanguard sat firmly atop game sales for the year with 2022 seeming likely to repeat that with the recent Modern Warfare II according to analysts.
CoD’s success has also continued strongly on PC, even claiming 2 of the top 12 highest grossing slots on the Steam marketplace in 2022 – Modern Warfare II and CoD: Black Ops Cold War. Its brand power has shown little sign of fading.
Elden Ring Crosses 16 Million Sales
While nowhere close to Call of Duty levels, the RPG Elden Ring has been a landmark success in 2022 as well. The challenging fantasy title from veteran studio FromSoftware (Dark Souls) has widely exceeded expectations. Elden Ring impressively sold over 16 million copies in its first 6 months – already an all-time record for FromSoftware. Strong critical reception and influential word-of-mouth has contributed greatly.
FIFA and 2K Annual Sports Games Still Selling Million Each Year
Much like Call of Duty, EA’s long-running FIFA football/soccer series and 2K’s NBA 2K basketball games manage to sell multiple millions every entry. This has remained the case in 2024 and 2024 again for both franchises despite increased competition in the sports genre like MLB The Show.
These series now rely heavily on recurrent spending and virtual currency through their integrated Ultimate Team modes. But plenty of fans clearly remain loyal to picking up the core title yearly as well alongside that.
Video Game Industry Outlook
The future continues to appear extremely bright for gaming. Whether judged by hardware sales, software sales, revenue, or profitability metrics – the interactive entertainment industry is thriving. As technology continues improving and gaming pushes further towards the mainstream, this growth trajectory seems poised to persist over the next several years at least. Gamers young and old will reap the benefits of that via even more great games and systems to enjoy them on.
And that covers the latest key video game sales statistics and facts for 2024! Let me know if you need any clarification or have additional questions.
