Can GTA 6 Overtake Minecraft as the Best Selling Video Game Ever?
Every few years, someone claims a new game will finally dethrone Minecraft as the best selling video game in history. So far, nothing has come close. But with Grand Theft Auto 6 set to launch on November 19, 2026, that conversation has started again.
This article covers where the all time sales chart stands today, why some games keep selling for decades while others fade after launch, and whether GTA 6 realistically has a shot at the top spot.
Key Takeaways
- Minecraft remains the best selling video game ever, with 350 million copies sold since 2011.
- GTA 5 sits in second place with 220 million copies, built up over thirteen years and multiple console re-releases.
- Sales figures on lists like this are estimates from publisher announcements, not exact, audited counts.
- GTA 6 launches on November 19, 2026, with the highest pre-release purchase intent ever recorded.
- GTA 6 has a realistic chance of beating GTA 5’s total sales over time, especially with strong online support.
- Beating Minecraft is much harder because of Minecraft’s accessibility across low cost devices and younger audiences.
- Future console ports, a timely PC release, and continued digital sales growth will likely matter more than launch week numbers.
Highest Selling Video Games Comparison Table
All figures below are lifetime unit sales, not revenue. Most come from publisher earnings reports or milestone announcements, so treat them as close estimates rather than exact, real time counts.
| Rank | Game | Estimated Copies Sold | Release Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minecraft | 350 million | 2011 |
| 2 | Grand Theft Auto V | 220 million | 2013 |
| 3 | Wii Sports | 82.9 million | 2006 |
| 4 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | 79 million | 2018 |
| 5 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 78 million | 2017 |
| 6 | PUBG: Battlegrounds | 75 million | 2017 |
| 7 | Terraria | 64 million | 2011 |
| 8 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 60 million | 2015 |
| 9 | Super Mario Bros. | 58 million | 1985 |
| 10 | Human: Fall Flat | 55 million | 2016 |
The Current Top 10 Best Selling Video Games
Here are the list of Top 10 Best Selling Video Games…
1. Minecraft, 350 million copies
Minecraft isn’t just the best selling game of all time. It’s not even close. Released by Mojang in 2011 and picked up by Microsoft three years later for $2.5 billion, the game keeps selling because it never really stops being relevant.
New players, mostly kids, discover it every year, and the game runs on almost anything with a screen. That’s the real secret behind the number. It’s not one huge launch, it’s fourteen years of steady sales across phones, consoles, and PCs.
2. Grand Theft Auto V, 220 million copies
GTA 5 launched in 2013, and it’s still selling today, largely because of GTA Online. Rockstar kept adding content to the online mode for over a decade, giving players a reason to keep buying the base game long after most titles would have faded out. This pattern matters later in this article, since it’s the model GTA 6 is expected to follow.
3. Wii Sports, 82.9 million copies
Nintendo bundled this with the Wii console for years, so most owners never bought it separately. It still introduced motion controls to a mainstream audience and got a lot of non gamers holding a controller for the first time.
4. Red Dead Redemption 2, 79 million copies
RDR2 proved that a slower, more deliberate open world game could still sell tens of millions of copies. It also helped that the game got cheaper and more accessible on newer hardware years after release.
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 78 million copies
Nintendo’s best selling individual game, combining sales across the Wii U original and its Switch re-release. If you buy a Switch, there’s a good chance Mario Kart is in the cart with it.
6. PUBG: Battlegrounds, 75 million copies
PUBG basically created the modern battle royale genre before Fortnite took the spotlight. It still holds a massive player base, especially in Asia, which keeps its total climbing.
7. Terraria, 64 million copies
A 2D sandbox game made by a small team that has quietly outsold most AAA blockbusters. Its low price and constant free updates turned it into one of the best value purchases in gaming.
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, 60 million copies
CD Projekt Red’s fantasy RPG had an unusually long tail thanks to strong word of mouth, a Netflix show that reignited interest, and a next gen re-release years after launch.
9. Super Mario Bros., 58 million copies
The 1985 classic that arguably saved the home console industry after the 1983 crash. Its total is remarkable given how old the game is and how limited distribution was back then.
10. Human: Fall Flat, 55 million copies
A physics based puzzle game that became a surprise hit thanks to streamers and co-op play. A low budget indie title with the right mechanics can quietly rack up sales for years.
Why This Record Matters
A game doesn’t need to top a sales chart to be good, but the “best selling game of all time” title still carries real weight. It signals cultural reach beyond the usual gaming audience. Minecraft isn’t just popular with gamers, it’s popular with kids, teachers, and parents too, and that kind of reach is rare.
Lifetime sales also matter more than launch sales. A game can sell ten million copies in its opening weekend and then stop selling almost entirely. That’s a strong launch, not a strong legacy.
Games that stay near the top of these lists for years, like GTA 5 and Minecraft, tend to give players a reason to keep coming back, and give new players a reason to buy in years after release. That’s harder to pull off than a big first week, and it’s a better measure of whether a game truly became part of gaming culture. For publishers, it also means revenue that keeps coming in long after development costs are paid off.
Expanded Analysis: Does GTA 6 Have a Real Shot?
GTA 6 launches on November 19, 2026, and by most industry estimates, it already has the highest pre-release purchase intent of any game ever tracked. That’s a strong starting point, but purchase intent and long term unit sales are two different things.
Why GTA 6 Could Beat GTA 5
GTA 5 needed thirteen years and five console re-releases to reach 220 million copies. GTA 6 starts from a bigger base: a larger global gaming population, instant digital storefronts, and Rockstar’s brand at its peak. If GTA 6 matches GTA 5’s replay value and online support, it could realistically beat GTA 5’s launch year numbers. Beating its lifetime total, though, depends on years of continued support, not just a strong opening.
Why Beating Minecraft Is a Much Harder Task
Minecraft’s 350 million figure was built over fourteen years across phones, consoles, low end PCs, and school computers. GTA 6 is a mature rated, high budget console and PC game. It won’t be sold to classrooms or downloaded on a basic tablet by a seven year old. That accessibility gap is probably the biggest wall between GTA 6 and the top spot. It isn’t about quality, it’s about how many types of people can actually buy and play the game.
How GTA Online Could Extend GTA 6’s Sales
GTA Online is arguably the biggest reason GTA 5 kept selling a decade after launch, with Rockstar releasing new content for over ten years. If Rockstar applies the same approach to GTA 6, which early reports suggest, that alone could keep new copies selling well into the 2030s. This is analysis based on Rockstar’s past behavior, not a confirmed plan.
The Impact of Future Console Generations and a PC Release
GTA 5 was re-released across the PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series generations, and each new console cycle brought a fresh wave of buyers. GTA 6 will likely follow the same path, and a future next gen port could add tens of millions of sales over the following decade.
A PC release matters too. GTA 5’s PC version arrived over a year after the console launch and still became one of the best selling PC games of the decade, partly thanks to Steam sales pulling in buyers who skipped it at full price. A quicker PC release for GTA 6 could speed up its climb toward the top of the chart.
Digital Sales Growth and Rockstar’s Support Strategy
The way people buy games has changed since 2013. Digital downloads now often make up the majority of a big release’s first week sales, which generally helps games like GTA 6 since digital copies never run out of stock and can be bought instantly worldwide.
Rockstar also isn’t known for releasing a game and moving on. Even Red Dead Redemption 2, a mostly single player game, got ongoing support through Red Dead Online for years. That track record gives some reason for optimism about GTA 6’s long term support, though it remains a prediction rather than a confirmed fact.
Factors That Could Help GTA 6 Become the Best Selling Game
- A larger gaming audience. More people play games globally today than in 2013.
- Digital distribution. Instant, worldwide access removes friction that limited older launches.
- Global popularity of the GTA brand. Built-in anticipation drives strong word of mouth.
- A strong online mode. Repeating GTA Online’s success gives players a reason to stick around.
- Future console releases. Ports to next gen hardware could add sales for years after launch.
- Long term content updates. Regular updates keep the game relevant and drive new purchases.
- Streaming and content creators. Constant free exposure, similar to what fueled GTA 5’s growth on Twitch and YouTube.
What Could Stop GTA 6 From Reaching Number One?
- Minecraft’s younger audience. Minecraft reaches children in a way a mature rated game legally can’t.
- Limited platform reach. GTA 6 will likely stay on consoles and PC, not low cost phones and tablets.
- The mature age rating. Parental restrictions and regional content laws limit who can legally buy it.
- Competition. The gaming market is more crowded now than it was in 2013.
- A higher price point. Modern AAA pricing can slow the pace of purchases in some regions.
- Unpredictable market changes. Console cycles and shifts toward cloud gaming or subscriptions could affect long-term sales in ways that are hard to predict today.
None of this means GTA 6 can’t sell extremely well. It just explains why catching a game built for near universal accessibility is genuinely difficult, not a guaranteed outcome.
Can GTA 6 Really Become Number One?
This section is opinion and analysis, not a confirmed prediction. GTA 6 has a realistic shot at beating GTA 5’s own record over the next decade, especially if Rockstar repeats the GTA Online strategy and the game eventually lands on future consoles. That alone would be a massive achievement.
Catching Minecraft is a different story. Minecraft’s total was built on accessibility that a mature, premium priced console and PC game can’t match. Unless something changes about how GTA 6 is distributed or priced, becoming the outright best selling game of all time looks unlikely within the next ten to fifteen years, even with a historic launch. That said, long sales records have been broken before by games nobody expected to still be selling well a decade later, and GTA 5 is a good example of exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest selling video game of all time?
Minecraft, with an estimated 350 million copies sold across all platforms since its 2011 release.
How many copies has GTA 5 sold?
An estimated 220 million copies since launching in 2013, making it the second best selling video game in history.
Can GTA 6 beat Minecraft?
Possible in theory, unlikely in the near future. Minecraft’s total was built on accessibility across phones, low end PCs, and younger audiences that a mature rated game like GTA 6 can’t fully reach.
Why is Minecraft so hard to beat?
It runs on almost any device, appeals to nearly every age group, and has sold continuously for over a decade without losing relevance.
How many copies could GTA 6 sell?
There’s no official estimate yet, since the game hasn’t launched. Based on GTA 5’s performance and current purchase intent data, many analysts expect a historic launch, though long term totals remain speculation until real sales data comes in.
When does GTA 6 release?
November 19, 2026, according to Rockstar Games. See our GTA 6 release date guide for more.
Will GTA 6 get a PC release?
Rockstar hasn’t confirmed a date yet. Based on GTA 5’s history, a PC version is expected to follow the console launch. See our GTA 6 PC requirements page for details.
Bottom Line
Minecraft’s spot at number one looks safe for the foreseeable future. GTA 5 has proven that a well supported live game can chip away at that lead over a long enough timeline, and GTA 6 is in a strong position to become the next game to seriously test it.
Whether it ever reaches number one is genuinely uncertain. What we do know is that November 19, 2026 will be one of the most closely watched game launches in years, and the sales conversation is only going to get louder from here.
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