About this chart race
Mario is number one at all fifteen year-ends, and nothing has ever got close: 450 million copies in 2012, 894 million in 2026, still 379 million clear of Pokémon at the finish. The real contest is for second place, and it changes hands four times — Pokémon holds it until Call of Duty takes it in 2021, Pokémon takes it back in 2022, Call of Duty again in 2024, Pokémon again in 2026. Behind them, Minecraft is the fastest thing in the chart: 12 million copies in 2012 and 400 million in 2026, a 33-fold rise that carries it from outside the top ten to fifth. Call of Duty adds 400 million over the same fifteen years and Grand Theft Auto 361 million. The single biggest one-year move belongs to FIFA, which sat on 100 million for six straight year-ends and was restated to 260 million in 2018. Seven franchises climb into the top ten during the race, and Need for Speed, Madden NFL and The Sims all start inside it and finish outside. Together the top ten sold 1.6 billion copies in 2012 and 4.0 billion in 2026.
This animated ranking shows how copies sold changed across 17 series between 2012 and 2026. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2026, Mario leads with 894.
Included in this race
Mario, Pokémon, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, FIFA, Assassin's Creed, Wii, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, The Sims, Lego, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Need for Speed, Madden NFL, Pro Evolution Soccer.
Source
Data from Wikipedia — List of best-selling video game franchises. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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