But which among them has actually raked in the most during the early part of this decade? At the same time, which among these 2020s video games has kept most of the world entertained and distracted? It’s high time to take a look at the numbers and the state of the video game industry. But for the sake of fairness and transparency, titles whose studios didn’t report actual numbers won’t be included. Also, re-releases and games originating from the previous decade are excluded, since they practically received a huge headstart.
8 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Reported sales: 5. 7 million (during the first month) Release year: 2020 Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
It’s a Call of Duty game, so the huge number of sales is to be expected. Activision hasn’t released the total tally for Black Ops Cold War, but multiple sources indicate an impressive 5.7 million digital units sold during the game’s release month, which is November 2020.
Black Ops Cold War went on to earn $678 million for Activision during its first six weeks of sales, according to SuperData. The total could well be more than that since the game was crowned as the best-selling title of 2020, which is the height of the pandemic. Still, it’s not enough to surpass Modern Warfare, which earned $600 million in a mere span of three days.
7 FIFA 22
Reported sales: 9 million (first two months) Release year: 2021 Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
For anyone wondering why Electronic Arts keeps releasing football, basketball, and baseball games every year with scarce innovations, here’s why. During FIFA 22’s first eight weeks alone, it sold nine million copies. That’s according to data released by EA.
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What did help with its sales is the new HyperMotion feature, turning this FIFA into one of the franchise’s most competitive titles to date. In fact, reviews are generally more favorable compared to the older FIFA games. EA has yet to disclose total sales, but it’s easy to assume that it’s significantly higher than nine million.
6 FIFA 21
Reported sales: 31 million players by August 2021 Release year: 2020 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, Google Stadia
EA has yet to boast its total number of sales and players for FIFA 22, but it seems they didn’t need to. Their previous game, FIFA 21, had already made some monstrous numbers because by the middle of 2021, it had reportedly accumulated a total of 31 million players.
These numbers could be lower or higher now that FIFA 22 has been out for a while, but they can be indicative of FIFA 21’s sales numbers. After all, EA has no qualms in crowning FIFA 21 as the most successful FIFA ever back in 2021. They might or might not change their opinion about that once they’re done counting FIFA 22’s blessings.
5 Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Reported sales: 12. 64 million copies (as of May 2022) Release year: 2022 Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Nintendo’s games are not backing down in this race, as its premiere AAA title, Pokemon, is also breaking its own records with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. According to Statista, the game has sold a whopping 12.64 million copies, and that was back in May 2022.
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What’s impressive is that the game was only released back in January 2022, and in the span of four months, it already outsold some of the older games. What’s even more impressive is that it’s only available for the Nintendo Switch. So one can imagine that those Switch sales are also off the charts thanks to Pokemon.
4 Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Reported sales: $1 billion in revenue (as of February 2022) Release year: 2020 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows
It seems people aren’t showing any signs of fatigue for the Assassin Brotherhood and their eternal war with the Templars. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla turned out to be the second-most successful (and most profitable) Ubisoft title of all time. By February 2022, Ubisoft claimed that Valhalla had earned them $1 billion in revenue.
It’s probably getting higher as they keep adding new DLCs and content. It’s also not clear which part of this sales figure consists of microtransactions. Regardless, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the highest-grossingAssassin’s Creed game to date. What likely helped a lot was the Viking theme and setting as well as the added price from the DLCs, with some costing as much as $40.
3 Elden Ring
Reported sales: 16. 6 million Release year: 2022 Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Elden Ring is still going strong, and despite releasing only in February of 2022, it has already surpassed some of the bigger and more established AAA titles. At 16.6 million copies sold, the game is on track to be one of the best-selling video games not just in this decade, but also in the annals of the video game industry.
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One also has to consider the fact that it hasn’t even released its DLCs yet. And going by its developer’s track record for DLCs, there could be more than one. At that point, Elden Ring’s sales and revenue will only continue to grow. Lots of players are now getting indoctrinated into the Souls genre, with Elden Ring’s unforgiving difficulty being one of the selling points instead of a drawback.
2 Cyberpunk 2077
Reported sales: 18 million (as of 2021) Release year: 2020 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Despite the rather disastrous last-gen console release, Cyberpunk 2077 remains a behemoth in the video game industry. The game likely owes its landslide sales to its massive marketing and its developer’s formerly legendary status in the gaming community. The combined sales for 2020 and 2021 amount to 18 million copies sold.
These numbers are apparently estimates from CD Projekt. Also, the numbers could be higher now, especially after update 1.5, which fixed plenty of the game’s technical issues. These numbers could very well increase again if and when CD Projekt RED decides to release DLCs or expansions.
1 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Reported sales: 39. 3 million (as of June 2022) Release year: 2020 Platforms: Nintendo Switch
One would think that being a Nintendo Switch exclusive would affect sales, but looking at the numbers, it would seem that the opposite happened. Animal Crossing fans rabidly consumed Animal Crossing: New Horizons on an exclusive buffet table called the Nintendo Switch.
As of June 2022, it’s approaching 40 million copies sold, presumably with each copy at full price or close to it, since Switch price discounts are quite scarce for relatively recent titles. Regardless, that didn’t stop players from getting their hands on both a Switch and the game.
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