In honour of PlayStation’s 30th birthday yesterday in the US, data company Circana has dug out figures showing the top 20 best-selling PlayStation video games (date-range Jan 1995 to July 2025). Don’t get too excited.
Call of Duty dominates it, occupying nine of the top 20 spots, though Rockstar’s games lead the list, with Grand Theft Auto 5 top, Red Dead Redemption 2 fourth, GTA San Andreas fifth and GTA Vice City ninth.
The surprise performer for me is Insomniac’s relatively recent Marvel’s Spider-Man series, with the debut 2018 game in sixth and the PlayStation 5-launch-adjacent Miles Morales expandalone in 12th.
Elsewhere you’ll spot Minecraft, The Last of Us, God of War, Skyrim, and Rainbow Six Siege.
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The top-20 best-selling PlayStation games in the US ever, according to Circana senior director Mat Piscatella, are as follows.
Best-selling PlayStation games (all PlayStation platforms, US)
- Grand Theft Auto 5MinecraftRed Dead Redemption 2Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasCall of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)Marvel’s Spider-ManCall of Duty: Black Ops 3Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold WarGrand Theft Auto: Vice CityCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesThe Last of UsGod of War (2018)The Elder Scrolls 5: SkyrimCall of Duty: Black OpsRainbow Six: SiegeCall of Duty: Black Ops 2Call of Duty: WW2Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
The list changes when you re-order it according to dollars made. There are now 11 Call of Duty games in the top 20, though GTA 5 still leads and Red Dead Redemption 2 is now third. The older GTA games San Andreas and Vice City drop down, presumably as they were less monetised, as does the cheaper Minecraft. But Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man series gains a third entry with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 showing up in 18th.
The most welcome change to this list, though, is Guitar Hero 3 appearing in 10th – its income presumably buoyed by the expensive plastic pack-in guitar peripheral and buyable, downloadable song packs. I miss that series.
Here’s the top-20 highest grossing PlayStation games in the US ever (date-range Jan 1995 to July 2025).
Highest-grossing PlayStation games (all PlayStation platforms, US)
- Grand Theft Auto 5Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)Red Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold WarMinecraftCall of Duty: Black Ops 3Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasGuitar Hero 3: Legends of RockMarvel’s Spider-ManCall of Duty: Black Ops 2Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: WW2Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City
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But that’s not all, stats fans! While spelunking in the archives, Piscatella dug up two other notable best-seller lists. One of them was for PlayStation 1 games only, which is relevant because it was the 30th anniversary of PS1 yesterday (9th September) in the US. And the other was for the best-selling Dreamcast games ever. Why? Because the Dreamcast was released on the same day, 9th September, albeit four years later than PS1, in 1999.