Since 2020, blockbuster game launches have arrived across every major platform and in a variety of genres, from cozy life sims to sprawling open-world adventure RPGs.
This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, ranks the best-selling video games from 2020 to 2025 based on global unit sales using data from Video Game Sales Wiki (Fandom).
Animal Crossing Dominates as the 2020s’ Best-Selling Game
At 48.2 million units, Animal Crossing: New Horizons stands alone at the top of the ranking.
The game released on March 20, 2020, right as much of the world began to lock down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the latest addition to the Animal Crossing series made for the perfect time-sink amidst a period of global uncertainty and inactivity.
The table below shows the full ranking of the top 20 best-selling games from 2020 to 2025:
In second place is Hogwarts Legacy with 34.0 million, making the gap between #1 and #2 a sizable 14.2 million units. Hogwarts Legacy had the advantage of being tied to one of the world’s best-known franchises, Harry Potter, and delivered the open-world wizardry experience many fans had been waiting years for.
After that, the leaderboard tightens dramatically: four different games sit at exactly 30.0 million units (Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Call of Duty: Vanguard).
Nintendo Games Continue to Lead Sales
Several of the best-sellers are instantly recognizable Nintendo franchises. With six games in the top 20 best-sellers since 2020, Nintendo continues to be a development and publishing powerhouse in the world of gaming.
The six Nintendo titles together reached 144.7 million in sales, with no other singular publisher or developer coming close.
The company’s continued refinement of well-established franchises like Pokemon, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda has proven fruitful, with the company still able to produce hits across genres.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 console selling well since its June 2025 launch, Nintendo’s dominance doesn’t seem like it’s fading anytime soon.
To learn more about the global video game industry, check out this graphic that breaks down video game revenue by country on Voronoi.
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