Most Played And Popular Games In The World (2023-2024)

Here's the answer to what is the #1 most played game and other popular games in the world.

In the ever-evolving realm of video games, certain titles stand out as captivating experiences that have captured players’ imaginations worldwide. These games, with their innovative gameplay, immersive worlds, and compelling stories, have transcended the boundaries of mere entertainment, becoming cultural phenomena that have left an indelible mark on the gaming landscape.

From the wonders of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to the adrenaline-fueled battles of Street Fighter 6, from the haunting depths of Baldur’s Gate 3 to the exhilarating combat of Diablo IV, the gaming industry has witnessed a remarkable evolution, constantly pushing the boundaries of creativity and technology. Today, we explore the most played and most popular games in 2023-2024 and help you dive into the captivating worlds they offer.

What is the #1 Game in the World in 2024?

Minecraft is the best-selling video game in the world.
Minecraft is the best-selling video game in the world. (3D rendered by LordKing | Posted by Pfable)

Minecraft is the world’s #1 most played popular game. In October 2023, Mojang Studios could sell over 300 million game copies across all platforms, with around 60 million 0 registered players. Minecraft has a good track record with constant updates and version releases. Even YouTube celebrated its one trillion views on a Minecraft video, which shows the game’s success among the players as a whole community. You can apply many mods, texture packs, seeds, and enhancements to make your experience unique.

Despite Over 520 Million Copies Sold, Why Does Tetris Remain Second to Minecraft?

Minecraft was developed and published by Mojang Studios and released in 2009. It has been ported to many platforms and uses two different game engines, Lightweight Java Game Library (Java) and Render Dragon (Bedrock). Despite these differences, all versions of Minecraft are considered to be the same game, which has sold over 300 million copies.

In contrast, over 68 officially licensed Tetris games were developed by over 40 developers and released on over 65 platforms (including iPod and other devices). There are also over 70 unofficial Tetris games, many of which are commercial versions that have been purged due to the Tetris Company’s policy of not approving unauthorized games.

Despite Over 520 Million Copies Sold Why Does Tetris Remain Second to Minecraft

The Tetris Company is the exclusive licensee of Tetris Holding LLC, the owner of the worldwide rights to Tetris. TTC was founded in 1996 by Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov and Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers. Before this, Pajitnov did not receive royalties from Tetris.

Tetris is the second-bestselling video game franchise worldwide, with nearly 520 million copies sold, behind the Mario franchise, which has sold 832.37 million. However, Mojang is the clear winner in single-game sales, with Minecraft (2006) having sold over 300 million copies across all platforms and still counting.

Tetris Franchise Sold Over 520 Million Copies

The 520 million copies sold count for Tetris comes from a combination of sources, including sales data from publishers, retailers, and industry analysts.

Here is a breakdown of the sources for the 520 million copies sold count:

  • Physical copies: Over 70 million, including the Game Boy version’s bundled 35 million copies.
  • Mobile downloads: 425 million paid mobile downloads as of 2014.
  • Other platforms: Over 25 million copies sold, including home consoles, handheld consoles, and others.

It is important to note that these numbers are estimates and may be inaccurate. However, they are the most reliable estimates and are generally accepted as correct.

The Tetris franchise has sold over 520 million copies.
GIF created by enhance-experience.com

Here are some specific sources for the 520 million copies (and more) sold count:

  • The Tetris Company: The official website states that the game has sold over 520 million copies worldwide.
  • Electronic Arts: EA, which published EA Tetris, has stated that the game has sold over 100 million copies.
  • Nintendo: Nintendo published the NES and Game Boy versions of Tetris and stated that those versions have sold over 66 million copies.
  • Industry analysts: Industry analysts have estimated that Tetris has sold over 425 million paid mobile downloads.

Based on these sources, it is reasonable to conclude that Tetris has sold over 520 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises ever.

Most Popular Games in the World By Copies Sold

Grand Theft Auto V sold over 190 million copies
Image by Pexels from Pixabay

This list is based on the best-selling games on all platforms, and we are trying to avoid free-to-play titles to give you an accurate count of the most sold games. This means that many popular free-to-play games, such as Pokémon Go, with over 1 billion downloads, will not be included. Other complications include Minecraft: China Edition, which is free for Chinese players. We will adjust our “sold copies” metric accordingly.

Here are the most popular video games in the world, based on our above criteria:

  1. Minecraft – 300 million copies sold
  2. Grand Theft Auto V – 190 million copies sold
  3. Tetris (2008) – 132 million copies sold
  4. EA Tetris – 100 million copies sold
  5. Wii Sports – 82.9 million copies sold
  6. PUBG: Battlegrounds – 75 million copies sold
  7. Pokémon Red / Green / Blue / Yellow / Let’s Go Pikachu / Eevee– 74.2 million copies sold⬆️
  8. Tetris (1985) – 70 million copies sold
  9. Super Mario Bros. – 65.9 million copies sold
  10. Mario Kart 8 / Deluxe – 65.5 million copies sold⬆️
  11. Pac-Man (1980)– 64.5 million copies sold
  12. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – 60 million copies sold⬆️
  13. Red Dead Redemption 2 – 57 million copies sold⬆️
  14. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)– 50.19 million copies sold
  15. The Witcher 3 / Hearts of Stone / Blood and Wine – 50 million copies sold⬆️
  16. Overwatch – 50 million copies sold
  17. Tetris (1989) – 48 million copies sold⬆️
  18. Wii Fit / Plus – 44.6 million copies sold
  19. Terraria – 44.5 million copies sold
  20. Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 43.4 million copies sold⬆️
  21. Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal / HeartGold / SoulSilver – 42.84 million copies sold
  22. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)– 40.82 million copies sold⬆️
  23. Pokémon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum / Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl – 40.19 million copies sold⬆️
  24. Human: Fall Flat – 40 million copies sold⬆️⬆️
  25. Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald / Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire – 37.85 million copies sold
  26. Super Mario Bros. 2 – 37.72 million copies sold
  27. Mario Kart Wii – 37.38 million copies sold
  28. The Last of Us / Remastered / Part I – 35 million copies sold
  29. Super Mario World – 34.17 million copies sold
  30. Brain Age 1 / 2 – 33.89 million copies sold
  31. Wii Sports Resort – 33.14 million copies sold
  32. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 32.9 million copies sold⬆️
  33. Monster Hunter World – 32.7 million copies sold
  34. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 32.4 million copies sold⬆️
  35. Super Mario 64 – 32.31 million copies sold
  36. Call of Duty: Black Ops – 31 million copies sold
  37. New Super Mario Bros. – 30.8 million copies sold
  38. New Super Mario Bros. Wii – 30.32 million copies sold
  39. Diablo III / Reaper of Souls – 30 million copies sold
  40. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – 30.97 million copies sold
  41. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) – 30 million copies sold
  42. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – 30 million copies sold
  43. Duck Hunt – 28.31 million copies sold
  44. Wii Play – 28.02 million copies sold
  45. The Walking Dead (2012) – 28 million copies sold
  46. Grand Theft Auto IV – 28 million copies sold⬆️
  47. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 27.5 million copies sold
  48. Call of Duty: Black Ops II – 29.6 million copies sold
  49. Call of Duty: Ghosts – 28.8 million copies sold
  50. Borderlands 2 – 27 million copies sold
  51. Super Mario Odyssey – 26.95 million copies sold⬆️
  52. Call of Duty: Black Ops III – 26.72 million copies sold
  53. FIFA 18 – 26.4 million copies sold⬆️
  54. Pokémon Sword / Shield – 26.02 Copies Sold⬆️
  55. New Super Mario Bros. U / Luigi U / Deluxe – 25.59 million copies sold⬆️
  56. Pokémon Sun / Moon / Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon – 25.51 Copies Sold
  57. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) – 25.1 million copies sold
  58. Cyberpunk 2077 – 25 million copies sold⬆️
  59. God of War (2018) – 25 million copies sold⬆️
  60. Kinect Adventures! – 24 million copies sold
  61. Nintendogs – 23.9 million copies sold
  62. Mario Kart DS – 23.6 million copies sold
  63. Red Dead Redemption – 23 million copies sold
  64. Pokémon Scarlet / Violet – 22.66 million copies sold
  65. Elden Ring – 22.65 million copies sold⬆️
  66. Final Fantasy VII / Remake – 21.99 million copies sold
  67. Super Mario Galaxy – 21.87 million copies sold
  68. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – 21.8 million copies sold
  69. Marvel’s Spider-Man – 21.5 million copies sold⬆️
  70. Final Fantasy X / X-2 / HD / Remaster – 23.13 million copies sold
  71. Call Of Duty: WWII – 20.63 million copies sold
  72. Stardew Valley – 20 million copies sold
  73. The Sims 2 – 20 million copies sold
  74. Dark Souls III – 20 million copies sold
  75. Garry’s Mod – 20 million copies sold
  76. Frogger – 20 million copies sold
  77. Lemmings – 20 million copies sold
  78. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 19.5 million copies sold⬆️
  79. Super Mario Land – 18.37 million copies sold
  80. Monster Hunter Rise – 18.1 million copies sold
  81. Donkey Kong – 17.77 million copies sold
  82. Call of Duty: World at War – 17.7 million copies sold
  83. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – 17.5 million copies sold
  84. Super Mario 3D World / Bowser’s Fury – 16.7 million copies sold⬆️
  85. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec – 16.5 million copies sold
  86. Pokémon X / Y – 16.68 million copies sold
  87. Gran Turismo 5 – 16.01 million copies sold
  88. Dark Souls / Remastered – 16 million copies sold
  89. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – 16 million copies sold
  90. The Sims – 16 million copies sold
  91. Pokémon Black / White – 15.65 million copies sold
  92. Super Mario Sunshine – 15.38 million copies sold
  93. Ring Fit Adventure – 15.38 million copies sold
  94. Diablo II – 15 million copies sold
  95. The Elder Scrolls Online – 15 million copies sold
  96. Pokémon Legends: Arceus – 14.83 million copies sold
  97. Grand Theft Auto III – 14.5 million copies sold
  98. Halo 3 – 14.5 million copies sold
  99. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – 14.1 million copies sold⬆️
  100. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / 3D – 14.04 million copies sold
  101. Bloodborne – 14 million copies sold
  102. Splatoon 2 – 13.6 million copies sold
  103. Fallout 4 – 13.51 million copies sold
  104. New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 13.41 million copies sold
  105. Super Smash Bros. Brawl – 13.32 million copies sold
  106. Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 13.04 million copies sold
  107. Dark Souls II – 13 million copies sold
  108. Super Mario Land 3D Land – 12.86 million copies sold
  109. Luigi’s Mansion 3 – 12.82 million copies sold
  110. Super Mario All-Stars – 12.79 million copies sold
  111. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening / DX – 12.51 million copies sold
  112. Fallout 3 – 12.4 million copies sold
  113. Final Fantasy XII / Zodiac Age / Revenant Wings – 12.34 million copies sold
  114. Rust – 12 million copies sold
  115. Half-Life 2 – 12 million copies sold
  116. Final Fantasy VIII / Remastered – 11.98 million copies sold
  117. Animal Crossing: Wild World – 11.75 million copies sold
  118. Dr. Mario – 11.5 million copies sold
  119. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins – 11.18 million copies sold
  120. StarCraft – 11M Players
  121. Fallout: New Vegas – 11M Players
  122. Splatoon 3 – 10.67 million copies sold
  123. Final Fantasy XV / (Versions Excluding F2P) – 10.5 million copies sold
  124. Persona 5 / Royal / Remaster – 10.22 million copies sold
  125. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess / HD – 10.02 million copies sold
  126. The Last of Us Part II – 10 million copies sold
  127. Dragon Ball FighterZ – 10 million copies sold
  128. Halo: Reach – 9.87 million copies sold
  129. Persona 4 / Golden – 9.84 million copies sold
  130. Halo 4 – 9.75 million copies sold
  131. Ghost of Tsushima – 9.73 million copies sold
  132. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – 9.64 million copies sold
  133. Final Fantasy XIII / XIII-2 / Lightning Returns – 9.6 million copies sold
  134. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – 9.5 million copies sold
  135. Halo 5: Guardians – 9.5 million copies sold
  136. Monster Hunter 3 – 9.4 million copies sold
  137. Wii Party – 9.35 million copies sold
  138. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 – 9 million copies sold
  139. Monster Hunter X / Generations – 8.9 million copies sold
  140. Final Fantasy IX / HD – 8.9 million copies sold
  141. Pokémon Black 2 / White 2 – 8.52 million copies sold
  142. Halo 2 – 8.46 million copies sold
  143. Super Mario Maker 2 – 8.42 million copies sold
  144. Monster Hunter 4 – 8.3 million copies sold
  145. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – 7.82 million copies sold
  146. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass / Spirit Tracks – 7.72 million copies sold
  147. Super Mario Maker – 7.7 million copies sold
  148. Nier: Automata – 7.5 million copies sold
  149. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past / Four Swords – 7.43 million copies sold
  150. Super Smash Bros. Melee – 7.41 million copies sold
  151. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 7.4 million copies sold
  152. Yo-kai Watch 2 – 7.3 million copies sold
  153. Kirby and the Forgotten Land – 6.96 million copies sold
  154. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island – 6.95 million copies sold
  155. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask / 3D – 6.82 million copies sold
  156. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – 6.8 million copies sold
  157. Tomodachi Life – 6.72 million copies sold
  158. Monster Hunter 2 – 6.72 million copies sold
  159. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon – 6.48 million copies sold
  160. Dragon Quest III – 6.44 million copies sold
  161. Dragon Quest V – 6.41 million copies sold
  162. Halo 3: ODST – 6.35 million copies sold
  163. Space Invaders (1980) – 6.25 million copies sold
  164. Starcraft II – 6 million copies sold
  165. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – 6 million copies sold
  166. Dragon Quest IV – 5.97 million copies sold
  167. Kingdom Hearts – 5.9 million copies sold
  168. Final Fantasy Type-0 – 5.9 million copies sold
  169. Dragon Quest VIII – 5.80 million copies sold
  170. Link’s Crossbow Training – 5.79 million copies sold
  171. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds / Tri Force Heroes – 5.62 million copies sold
  172. Dragon Quest VII – 5.56 million copies sold
  173. Super Smash Bros. – 5.55 million copies sold
  174. Halo: Combat Evolved – 5.5 million copies sold
  175. Dragon Quest I – 5.41 million copies sold
  176. Demon’s Souls – 5.4 million copies sold
  177. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – 5.38 million copies sold
  178. Dragon Quest IX – 5.35 million copies sold
  179. The Legend of Zelda / Classic NES – 5.29 million copies sold
  180. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 – 5.19 million copies sold
  181. Kirby’s Dream Land – 5.13 million copies sold
  182. Chrono Trigger – 5.13 million copies sold
  183. Donkey Kong Jr. – 5.06 million copies sold
  184. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – 5 million copies sold
  185. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse – 5 million copies sold
  186. Kingdom Hearts III – 5 million copies sold
  187. Fable II – 5 million copies sold
  188. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link / Classic NES – 4.97 million copies sold
  189. Splatoon – 4.95 million copies sold
  190. Dragon Quest II – 4.87 million copies sold
  191. Dragon Quest VI – 4.7 million copies sold
  192. Kirby Star Allies – 4.38 million copies sold
  193. Super Mario Bros. Wonder – 4.3 million copies sold⬆️
  194. Fire Emblem: Three Houses – 4.12 million copies sold
  195. Star Fox 64 – 4 million copies sold
  196. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – 4 million copies sold

Most Played Video Games in the World by Player Count (2023-2024)

This list is based on player count, registered accounts, and peak player logins since release. Therefore, the total count may not reflect the current number of players. Additionally, the values may vary depending on the source. For example, Overwatch had 50 million players, but Overwatch 2 currently has 25 million registered players, despite all Overwatch players automatically upgrading to OW2. This may be due to the new requirement to connect a phone number to your account. So, with that said, here are the most-played video games in the world:

  1. Candy Crush Saga – 2.73B Players
  2. PUBG: Battlegrounds – 1.2B Players
  3. Crossfire – 1B Players
  4. Dungeon Fighter Online – 850M Players
  5. Minecraft – 738M Players
  6. QQ Speed / GKART / Speed Drifters – 700M Players
  7. Pac-Man Doodle – 505M Players
  8. Among Us – 500M Players
  9. Microsoft Solitaire – 400M Players
  10. Mini World – 400M Players
  11. Crazyracing Kartrider – 380M Players
  12. Fortnite – 350M Players
  13. Fantasy Westward Journey – 310M Players
  14. RuneScape – 280M Players
  15. Rules of Survival – 230M Players
  16. Roblox – 202M Players
  17. Club Penguin – 200M Players
  18. Dragon Nest – 200M Players
  19. MapleStory – 180M Players
  20. Tetris – 177M Players
  21. Animal Jam – 160M Players
  22. World of Tanks – 160M Players
  23. Grand Theft Auto V – 140M Players
  24. Apex Legends – 130M Players
  25. The Legend of Mir 3 – 120M Players
  26. League of Legends – 111M Players
  27. Transformice – 100M Players
  28. World of Warcraft – 100M Players
  29. CityVille – 100M Players
  30. Happy Farm – 100M Players
  31. Scions of Fate – 100M Players
  32. The Sims Social – 100M Players
  33. Zhengtu – 100M Players
  34. Microsoft Solitaire Collection – 100M Players
  35. Hearthstone – 100M Players
  36. Call of Duty: Warzone – 100M Players
  37. Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes – 100M Players
  38. FarmVille – 83M Players
  39. Westward Journey Online 2 – 83M Players
  40. Ragnarok Online – 80M Players
  41. Moshi Monsters – 80M Players
  42. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links – 80M Players
  43. Dragon Oath – 75M Players
  44. Rocket League – 75M Players
  45. Dofus – 62M Players
  46. Adopt Me! – 60M Players
  47. Flyff – 60M Players
  48. Fall Guys – 50M Players
  49. Overwatch – 50M Players
  50. Lineage – 50M Players
  51. Perfect World – 50M Players
  52. Team Fortress 2 – 50M Players
  53. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – 50M Players
  54. Warframe – 50M Players
  55. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – 46M Players
  56. FarmVille 2 – 43M Players
  57. The Sims 4 – 36M Players
  58. Drakensang Online – 35M Players
  59. FIFA 20 – 35M Players
  60. Teamfight Tactics – 33M Players
  61. Evony – 33M Players
  62. FIFA 18 – 32.5M Players
  63. FIFA 21 – 31M Players
  64. Pac-Man – 30M Players
  65. Black Desert Online – 30M Players
  66. FIFA 17 – 30M Players
  67. Sea of Thieves – 30M Players
  68. Metal Slug Defense – 29M Players
  69. FIFA 16 – 28.3M Players
  70. TERA – 28M Players
  71. Unturned – 27M Players
  72. GetAmped – 26M Players
  73. Overwatch 2 – 25M Players (After phone number registration)
  74. Street Fighter II – 25M Players
  75. Call of Duty: WWII – 24.9M Players
  76. Forza Horizon 4 – 24M Players
  77. Horizon Zero Dawn – 24.3M Players
  78. Left 4 Dead 2 – 23M Players
  79. Sudden Attack – 23M Players
  80. Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds – 21M Players
  81. Final Fantasy XIV – 20M Players
  82. Mabinogi – 20M Players
  83. DC Universe Online – 20M Players
  84. Shadowverse – 20M Players
  85. osu! – 19.3M Players
  86. Blade & Soul – 18M Players
  87. Payday 2 – 18M Players
  88. Farm Town – 17M Players
  89. The Last of Us Remastered – 15.9M Players
  90. Doom – 15M Players
  91. For Honor – 15M Players
  92. Minecraft Dungeons – 15M Players
  93. Trove – 15M Players
  94. Puyopuyo!! Quest Arcade – 15M Players
  95. Lineage II – 14M Players
  96. Paladins – 14M Players
  97. Battlefield 4 – 13.9M Players
  98. The Elder Scrolls Online – 13.5M Players
  99. Dota 2 – 13M Players
  100. Call of Duty: Ghosts – 12.6M Players
  101. FIFA 19 – 12.5M Players
  102. Rust – 12M Players
  103. Guild Wars 2 – 11M Players
  104. Forza Horizon 3 – 10M Players
  105. Star Wars: The Old Republic – 10M Players
  106. H1Z1 – 10M Players
  107. Forza Horizon 5 – 10M Players
  108. Ark: Survival Evolved – 10M Players
  109. State of Decay 2 – 10M Players
  110. Robocraft – 10M Players
  111. Free Realms – 10M Players

That’s everything you need to know about the world’s #1 most played and list of most popular games in 2023-2024.