The past five years of gaming have been absolutely bonkers for sales records. From cozy island life simulators to brutally difficult action RPGs to surprise indie phenomena, the games that dominated the market between 2020 and 2025 tell the story of how wildly different gaming audiences can be. We’re talking about 20 games that collectively sold over 550 million copies and fundamentally shifted how the industry thinks about what sells. Let’s break down the biggest winners of this gaming generation.
- The Undisputed Champion: Animal Crossing New Horizons
- The Dark Souls Effect: Elden Ring’s 30 Million Impact
- The Franchise Juggernauts: Call of Duty and Hogwarts
- The Surprise Hit: Palworld’s 15 Million in Less Than a Year
- The Demon Slayer Phenomenon: Black Myth Wukong
- Nintendo’s Dominance: The Mario and Zelda Explosion
- The Indie Darlings: Helldivers 2 and It Takes Two
- The Action RPG Revolution: Monster Hunter and Baldur’s Gate
- The Outliers: Cyberpunk 2077 and God of War Ragnarök
- What These Numbers Really Mean
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
The Undisputed Champion: Animal Crossing New Horizons
Nothing comes close to Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ dominance. The 2020 Nintendo Switch exclusive sold 48.19 million copies, a number that feels almost unreal. This game released right as the pandemic locked everyone inside, and it became the comfort gaming experience that an entire planet needed. You could escape to your own island, decorate however you wanted, and exist at your own pace. No competition, no pressure, just vibes.
The timing was absolutely perfect, but timing alone doesn’t explain those numbers. Animal Crossing tapped into something fundamental: the universal appeal of a game that welcomes everyone regardless of skill level. Your grandma could play it. Your little cousin could play it. The hardcore gamer could play it. That kind of universal accessibility is worth roughly 48 million copies.
The Dark Souls Effect: Elden Ring’s 30 Million Impact
Elden Ring sold 30 million copies in just three years. That’s remarkable for a notoriously difficult game that actively punishes players for making mistakes. FromSoftware and George R.R. Martin created something that transcended the typical “hardcore difficulty” audience and became genuinely mainstream. Elden Ring proved that games don’t need to handhold players to sell like crazy. In fact, the difficulty became part of the appeal.
What’s even more remarkable is that Elden Ring competed directly with powerhouse franchises and still dominated. The game showed that creative ambition and uncompromising design could outsell established series. It became the template for what the industry should aspire to: massive scope, distinctive vision, and willingness to trust players.
The Franchise Juggernauts: Call of Duty and Hogwarts
Call of Duty released two games in this period that each hit 30 million copies: Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard. The franchise’s ability to consistently move that many units despite annual releases is genuinely impressive. These games sold on brand recognition, multiplayer mechanics that feel familiar but fresh, and the reality that mainstream gamers trust Call of Duty more than they trust most other shooters.
Hogwarts Legacy hit 34 million copies and became the fifth best-selling game of the period. The Harry Potter brand combined with a legitimately fun action RPG created the perfect storm. Players wanted to be wizards. Hogwarts Legacy delivered exactly that fantasy. The game proved that brand power still matters enormously, and that Harry Potter fans are willing to drop money on interactive experiences set in their beloved universe.
The Surprise Hit: Palworld’s 15 Million in Less Than a Year
Palworld released in January 2025 and already sold 15 million copies by November, placing it on the best-sellers list alongside games that had been out for years. This game is absolutely bonkers in the best way. It’s described as “Pokémon with guns” but that undersells what Palworld actually does. It combines creature collecting, survival mechanics, factory building, and cooperative multiplayer into something genuinely addictive.
What’s wild about Palworld is that it proved there’s massive hunger for innovation in established genre templates. Players don’t just want Pokémon clones. They want Pokémon remixed with other game types. The game became a cultural phenomenon through social media virality and word-of-mouth hype. It’s a legitimate testament to how powerful indie and mid-tier games can be when they offer something genuinely different.
The Demon Slayer Phenomenon: Black Myth Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong sold 28 million copies and became one of only five Chinese-developed AAA games to ever achieve this level of global success. The game is visually stunning, mechanically complex, and based on Journey to the West. It released in September 2024 and absolutely dominated the last quarter of the year. This game proved that audiences worldwide are hungry for quality titles from developers outside the typical Western powerhouses.
What made Wukong special wasn’t just that it was technically impressive. It was that it respected players’ intelligence and didn’t assume an English-speaking Western audience was the only market that mattered. The game launched simultaneously in multiple regions with proper localization, making it genuinely accessible to global players. That strategy paid off spectacularly.
Nintendo’s Dominance: The Mario and Zelda Explosion
Nintendo absolutely crushed it during this period. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sold 27.15 million combined. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold 22 million. Super Mario Bros. Wonder sold 16.03 million. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl combined sold 15.06 million. Nintendo Switch Sports sold 16.27 million. These numbers showcase why Nintendo’s strategy of focusing on exclusive franchises and quality control has worked so brilliantly.
Tears of the Kingdom particularly deserves praise. It sold 22 million copies despite being a sequel on an aging console system. Breath of the Wild’s influence revolutionized open-world design, and Tears of the Kingdom proved the formula was more than a one-hit wonder. The game sold on innovation in sequel design and the quality of the player experience, not cutting-edge graphics or technological prowess.
The Indie Darlings: Helldivers 2 and It Takes Two
Helldivers 2 released in early 2024 and already sold 18 million copies by November. The game is a pure cooperative third-person shooter where friendly fire is always on. That design choice sounds crazy, but it creates moments of absolute chaos and hilarity that solo games can’t replicate. It’s a masterclass in cooperative game design and proof that multiplayer-focused experiences can still achieve massive sales.
It Takes Two sold 20 million copies and won the Game Awards Game of the Year in 2021. This cooperative-only action-adventure game proved that you could design an entire experience around forcing two players to work together, and audiences would celebrate it. The game is heartfelt, mechanically inventive, and genuinely funny. Its success opened doors for developers to think more creatively about cooperative experiences.
The Action RPG Revolution: Monster Hunter and Baldur’s Gate
Monster Hunter Rise sold 17.5 million copies and became one of the most successful entries in that franchise. It proved that monolithic boss battles and grind mechanics could still appeal to massive audiences when designed with respect for players’ time and progression. The game was streamlined compared to World but felt more mechanically deep to veterans.
Baldur’s Gate 3 sold 15 million copies despite being a massive, complex CRPG that requires significant time investment. The game proved that audiences hunger for ambitious game design, complex narratives, and meaningful player choice. Baldur’s Gate 3’s success gave confidence to developers that games didn’t need to be simplified to achieve mass appeal.
The Outliers: Cyberpunk 2077 and God of War Ragnarök
Cyberpunk 2077 is the most interesting entry on this list. The game released broken and unplayable on consoles in December 2020. It faced massive backlash, refunds, and class action lawsuits. Yet it still sold 30 million copies. The game’s recovery over 2023 and 2024, with the Phantom Liberty expansion and countless patches, transformed it from industry joke to legitimately great experience. Cyberpunk 2077 proves that redemption is possible and that sometimes persistence pays off.
God of War Ragnarök sold 15 million copies and became one of the fastest-selling PlayStation exclusives ever. The game delivered on the promise of its predecessor while expanding scope and ambition. It shows that established franchises can still achieve massive sales when they deliver quality, narrative satisfaction, and mechanical polish.
What These Numbers Really Mean
Over 550 million copies of these 20 games were sold between 2020 and 2025. That’s an astonishing number that represents incredible wealth creation for the gaming industry. But what’s more interesting than the numbers themselves is what they reveal about player preferences. Quality matters. Innovation matters. Respecting your audience matters. The games that dominated weren’t necessarily the most expensive or highest-profile launches. They were games that understood their audience and delivered exactly what those players wanted.
Animal Crossing understood that people wanted comfort. Elden Ring understood that people wanted a challenge. Palworld understood that people wanted innovation. Black Myth: Wukong understood that global audiences wanted representation. The best sellers of this era succeeded because they listened.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the best-selling game of 2020-2025?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the clear winner with 48.19 million copies sold. The game’s combination of universal appeal, pandemic timing, and quality execution created the perfect storm for massive sales.
How much did Elden Ring sell?
Elden Ring sold 30 million copies in just three years, making it one of the fastest-selling games in history. The collaboration between FromSoftware and George R.R. Martin created a genuine cultural phenomenon.
Did any Chinese games make the best-sellers list?
Yes. Black Myth: Wukong sold 28 million copies and became one of only five Chinese-developed AAA games to achieve this level of global success. It launched in September 2024 and dominated the last quarter of 2024.
How many Nintendo games made the list?
Five Nintendo games made the top 20 best-sellers: Pokémon Scarlet/Violet (27.15M), Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (22M), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (16.03M), Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl (15.06M), and Nintendo Switch Sports (16.27M).
What indie games made the list?
Palworld (15M), Helldivers 2 (18M), It Takes Two (20M), and Phasmophobia (25M) all made the list. These games prove that size and budget don’t determine success; quality and innovation do.
How many Call of Duty games made the list?
Two Call of Duty games made the list: Black Ops Cold War (30M) and Vanguard (30M). The franchise’s consistent ability to move these quantities demonstrates the power of established brands and annual release cycles.
Did Hogwarts Legacy meet sales expectations?
Yes. Hogwarts Legacy sold 34 million copies, making it the fifth best-selling game of the 2020-2025 period. The game proved that Harry Potter fans are willing to spend money on interactive experiences set in their beloved universe.
How did Cyberpunk 2077 manage 30 million sales after its broken launch?
Cyberpunk 2077 released broken in December 2020 but made its 30 million sales through consistent post-launch support, the Phantom Liberty expansion, and countless patches that eventually transformed it into a quality experience. It’s a redemption story that proves persistence can overcome initial failure.
What does Palworld’s success mean for the industry?
Palworld’s 15 million sales in less than a year prove that there’s massive hunger for innovation in established genre templates. Players don’t just want clone products; they want remixes that combine familiar concepts in new ways.
Why did so many Nintendo games make the list?
Nintendo’s strategy of focusing on quality exclusive franchises and respecting its established IP paid off spectacularly. The company understood that players would support new entries in beloved series when the quality and innovation were there.
Conclusion
The best-selling games of 2020-2025 tell a story about what players actually want from gaming. They want comfort and escape, but they also want challenges that demand respect. They want innovation in established templates and representation beyond traditional Western markets. They want quality, respect for their time, and experiences that deliver genuine value. Animal Crossing understood pandemic loneliness. Elden Ring understood the appeal of difficulty. Black Myth: Wukong understood that global audiences wanted representation. Palworld understood that players wanted genre innovation. These 20 games sold over 550 million copies because they listened to what players wanted and delivered. In an industry sometimes obsessed with graphics and technological prowess, these sales numbers remind us that gameplay, design, and understanding your audience still matter most of all.