The most popular computer games of all time. Best selling games in history

31.05.2018 Pavel Makarov

Computer games appeared almost immediately with the advent of computers as entertainment for employees servicing these devices. In the late 80s and early 90s, professional studios began to emerge. It was then that such hits as Doom, Wolfenstein and other 3D shooters appeared. By the late 90s and early 2000s, the industry had grown into a significant entertainment industry. It was at this time that hits appeared that determined the direction of development of video games. This article shows the top legendary games of all time on PC, which have become standards in their genres.

Release date: 1999
Genre: network shooter, eSports
Developer: id Software
Publisher: id Software

The legendary Quake III Arena sends gamers to training grounds where bloody and fierce battles take place. The game does not have a plot or classic character development in the generally accepted sense.

The players’ task is to win in the arenas, increase their rating, receive points and purchase equipment and weapons for them. The peculiarity of the arena is its particular cruelty. Gamers turn each other into mincemeat using a variety of weapons (there are grenade launchers, chainsaws, etc.). When entering the arena, each hero is responsible only for himself. Victory goes to the last survivor.

Release date: 1998
Genre: first person shooter, Sci-Fi
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve

A game that was way ahead of its time. Dozens of similar projects were created based on Half-Life, but it was the game that won the minds and hearts of gamers around the world.

To survive in the harsh world of single player, the player will have to constantly think through a strategy for passing. Most monsters can become deadly if you just relax for a while and let your guard down. In addition to Half-Life, a multiplayer mode has been released, where players from anywhere in the world can play together or against each other.

Release date: 1997
Genre: historical real-time strategy
Developer: Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Studios

The strategic game series Age of Empires invited players to move into an exciting world of historically significant events. The plots of the games in the series repeated events that took place in the real history of mankind. Gamers are invited to take one side in the opposing conflict, develop an army, increase power and participate in battles with artificial intelligence.

The AI ​​of the series has been constantly evolving; in order to defeat cunning opponents, the player needs to think through clear tactics for developing and waging war.

Release date: 1998
Genre: Isometric RPG, post-apocalypse
Developer: Black Isle Studios
Publisher: Interplay Entertainment

The famous Fallout 2 pulled out the genre RPG games from gloomy dungeons and fantasy forests, moving the game action into a dynamic world after nuclear war. The game has a special atmosphere of an apocalyptic world, where hordes of mutants come out to meet the character.

To complete Fallout 2, you need to go through the storyline, learn how to control the selected character, properly upgrade and dress him. Otherwise, the harsh post-apocalyptic world will perish completely, and the unlucky hero will not be able to achieve his goal.

Release date: year 2000
Genre: Isometric RPG, fantasy
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Interplay Entertainment

Baldur's Gate II pleased players with the appearance of 3 additional classes to those in the first part. The game is a classic RPG in the D&D style. Also, this part of Baldur's Gate confronts the player with many new types of enemies. You will have to cope with monsters and move forward in the plot in rather difficult conditions.

In Baldur's Gate II, the bar for gaining experience has been raised, the combat system and the extraction of equipment have been complicated. All these indicators make the gameplay interesting, but the gamer needs to show all his skill to reach the end.

Release date: year 2009
Genre: RPG about space with a non-linear plot
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts

The darkest, most atmospheric and thrilling installment in the Mass Effect series, resurrects Commander Shepard to once again send him to fight for the fate of the galaxy. The gamer is offered female and male variations of the main character, as well as several basic classes, with which the fighting style and skills of the captain change.

According to the plot, new crew members appear on the captain's ship, with whom the player will have to interact throughout the game. Many events, including the ending, depend on the moral choices and decisions of the gamer.

Release date: 1991
Genre: global economic strategy
Developer: MicroProse, Firaxis Games, Westlake Interactive, Aspyr, BreakAway Games
Publisher: MicroProse, Koei, Hasbro Interactive, Infogrames, MacSoft, Aspyr, Atari, 2K Games

A large-scale series of Civilization strategies invites the player to control human civilization from its origins to the present. To go the full way from newly emerging people to modern beautiful cities, it is necessary to rebuild cities and manage them. Some parts of the series supported a network mode, where players could fight not only with artificial intelligence, but also with each other for new territories and resources.

To lead his civilization to flourish, the player needs to master the skills of tactics, diplomacy, and the basics of analytical thinking. Only thoughtful civilizations with a clear development structure will come to victory.

Release date: year 2000
Genre: global strategy with RTS elements
Developer: The Creative Assembly
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Activision, Sega

The Total War strategy has won the love of gamers thanks to its detailed, large-scale battles. Total War can be played both in single-player mode and online. Players take the side of one of the factions, develop it in order to win wars with artificial intelligence or other gamers.

Depending on the playstyle, units acquire unique character traits and skills. The characteristics of the army, generals, and faction rulers directly affect the ability to win wars with opponents.

Release date: 2004
Genre: Fantasy MMORPG
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

MMORPG World of Warcraft has rightfully become one of the most popular in the history of world gaming. More than 100 million accounts, constantly filled servers, regular updates with new locations and characters - all this speaks of the constant development of the game. World of Warcraft is focused on group play. Gamers, in order to upgrade and equip their characters, must constantly enter into alliances and conflicts with other people.

You can achieve results only with perseverance and the ability to work in a team. Players are encouraged to visit raid dungeons and events daily to get top gear.

Release date: 2003
Genre: Fantasy MMORPG
Developer: NCSoft
Publisher: NCSoft

Unlike most MMORPGs, Lineage II does not throw the player into one of the factions immediately after character creation. Having chosen a class and started leveling up, the gamer will be able to make an informed decision about who he wants to join. The PvP component in the game is given a large space, but players will also have to battle with monsters controlled by AI.

A huge part of the gameplay is dedicated to duels between players. To win, you need to carefully use the offered talents, gain experience in battles with AI and dress your character well.

Release date: year 2000
Genre: online team first-person shooter
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation, Sierra Entertainment

The multiplayer game Counter-Strike is a kind of arena with several training grounds for battles. Players play for 2 sides: terrorists, special forces. To win, gamers need to complete the map's signature task and destroy as many opponents as possible. The reward for kills and completed tasks are coins, for which you can purchase new equipment and weapons.

The better the weapon in the character's hands, the easier it is for the player to succeed in the arenas. Requirements for gamers change on different servers, as does the number of available factions (you can’t be an observer everywhere).

Release date: year 2013
Genre: MOBA
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation

One of the most popular games in the world is Dota 2. The action takes place in a battle arena where 2 teams of players (light and dark) collide. Each player controls one character. Dota 2 offers dozens of different characters with unique skills. Heroes need to be controlled in different ways, so the overall outcome of the game depends on the skill of the gamer.

In case of victory in the arena, the player receives coins and a rating increase. For gold you can buy new equipment and weapons for greater effectiveness in battle.

Release date: 2002
Genre: open world fantasy RPG
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Gamers' love for Morrowind appeared everywhere after the game's release. Morrowind role-playing game, the main feature of which was the open world and the removal of restrictions from the gamer. The player is free to go wherever he wants and whenever he wants, without corridor locations. There is a storyline, completing it is mandatory to win.

The player needs to select a suitable character, dress and upgrade him. Studying colorful world Morrowind takes place along with battles with monsters and interesting side quests.

Release date: year 2012
Genre: open world first person shooter
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal, Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Shanghai
Publisher: Ubisoft

The action game with RPG elements has gained immense popularity among players. Far Cry 3 sends the main character to a picturesque tropical island, where he will have to fight for survival. The main boss of the game is a charismatic psychopath who intrigues the player throughout the entire playthrough.

A cooperative mode is available, where players will have to team up to complete all tasks and battles. In cooperative mode, you can choose from various characters, not only the main character. The ultimate goal of the game is to survive by killing all enemies.

Release date: 2015
Genre: third-person shooter in an open world, crime
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games

A dynamic adventure game that combines elements from all popular genres of our time. In the fifth part, players got the opportunity to control not just one protagonist, but three. To fully complete the game's plot, you should switch between characters and use the unique abilities of each of them.

Also, the game contains universal skills that are useful in battle. The outcome of the exciting story depends on how the gamer distributes talents between the characters and what style of play he uses.

Compiling such lists is always associated with many difficulties. Differences in genres and time of release, discrepancies in numbers from different sources, and other “difficulties of translation.” However, the brave souls at tomshardware.com put all the information together and this is what came out of it.

15th place - Cossacks: European Wars

Cossacks was released in 2001 and took its place among the classic RTS. The variety of troops and factions, the excellent depiction of weapons for those times, as well as epic battles in which up to 8,000 combat units could simultaneously participate - all this distinguished Cossacks from other games in the genre. Creators - GSC Game World.

Circulation: 4 million copies

14th place - Diablo II

The second part of Diablo was released in 2000. After the first two weeks, more than 1 million copies were sold, for which Diablo 2 entered the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest-selling game. An absolute classic of the genre, combining the possibility of an endless grinder with progression through the plot and leveling up the selected character. Apparently, Blizzard Entertainment will release the 3rd part of this great game in May.

Circulation: 4 million copies

13th place - Counter-Strike

Valve released their masterpiece back in 1999 as one of the modifications for Half-Life. And until now CS is one of the most popular games in many countries. It hardly makes sense to tell eSports fans what CS is, since many began their gaming career with this game in cozy computer clubs.

Circulation: 4.2 million copies

12th place - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

The continuation of the famous StarCraft was released in 2010. Changes in graphics and gameplay were condemned for a long time by fans of the first part of the game, but time has shown that the developers did everything in good faith. According to many, it was the release of StarCraft II that raised the bar for eSports to a new level.

Circulation: 4.5 million copies

11th place - Riven

This game was released in 1997 by the Miller brothers. It became a continuation of Myth and differed from the original with improved graphics and more complex puzzles. However, the glory of the original could not be surpassed.

Circulation: 4.5 million copies

10th place - World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

The game was released in 2011 by the same Blizzard Entertainment as one of the additions to the original WoW. The game is the most popular MMORPG in the world, on this moment the number of subscribers exceeds 10 million people. The fantasy world of WarCraft has become a home for many.

Circulation: 4.7 million copies

9th place - Half-Life

One of the best first person shooter games. When Valve released Half-Life in 1998, more than 40 gaming publications voted it the best game of the year. Thanks to ingenious solutions in the development of levels, gameplay and AI, the game has received cult status.

Circulation: 5 million copies for PC (9.3 million copies for all platforms)

8th place - SimCity 3000

This is the third game in the SimCity series, which is the most successful in the genre of city life simulators. Compared to previous installments, SimCity 3000, released in 1999, was distinguished by its graphical component and more complex operating patterns for some industries, especially those related to waste processing and disposal. Developer - Electronic Arts.

Circulation: 5 million copies

7th place - Battlefield 3

Relatively a new game on the list. The third part of the famous Battlefield series was released in 2011. Electronic Arts relied on stunning graphics and multiplayer. And although the plot of the single-player game was somewhat blurred because of this, the game received the highest praise from both gaming publications and gamers themselves.

Circulation: over 5 million copies (over 11 million across all platforms)

6th place - MineCraft

Another new product that came out just last year. Developers from Sweden invited players to create their own world from cubes, embodying their imagination in unknown architectural forms. Thanks to its uniqueness and simplicity, literally in a year the number of registered users of the game reached 24 million.

Circulation: 5.3 million copies

5th place - Half-Life II

The second part of the cult game was released in 2004. During the year, Half-Life 2 collected about 40 awards for the title " best game year." A new engine, brilliantly executed animation of the world, advanced AI - thanks to this, the second part of the series still remains on the first line of the most highly rated first-person shooters.

Circulation: over 6 million copies (12 million across all platforms)

Whether there is a perfect recipe, which allows you to release an excellent game into the market and sell it in record numbers? Judging by the best-selling games in history, no. Here we will talk about the first-person shooters Battlefield and Call of Duty, and about the Minecraft world constructor, and about the GTA V prostitute murder simulator.

And now a riddle: what was the best-selling game in history? I'm sure most of you can handle it easily. But the answer is still at the end of the article.

World of Warcraft

The World of Warcraft game was released in 2004, by 2007 the number of users reached 8 million people, and in 2010 it exceeded 13 million. This is the most popular MMORPG in the world in terms of the number of subscribers, which is confirmed by an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. Throughout its history, more than 100 million accounts have been registered in the game, and the number of players fluctuates between 7 and 10 million people.

In October 2016, the fifteenth game in the series, Battlefield 1, based on the First World War, was released. Time will tell if it will make it to the list of best-selling games in the future.

Call of Duty

The success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became obvious in the first day after release, November 10, 2009. During the day, the developers set a record and sold 4.7 million copies of the game, surpassing Grand Theft Auto IV in this parameter. Seven years have passed since then, but the game still evokes the warmest feelings for many.

The game, on the contrary, caused indignation among deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. At the beginning of 2010, during the spring session of the meeting, they began to discuss Call of Duty, proposing to equate the games with extremist materials. We were talking about scenes of violence, namely the murder of unarmed people at the airport in the game. Level "No Russian" in Russian version removed.

In November 2010, Call of Duty: Black Ops broke the record of its predecessor - it sold 5 million copies in one day. Total sales of the game exceeded 26 million copies in 2012.

On November 12, 2011, Activision announced that a Call of Duty game had set a world sales record for the third year in a row. In just one day, 6.5 million copies were bought in the USA and England. Until 2013, 28.5 million copies were sold.

This game is dedicated to the end of World War III and is a sequel to Modern Warfare 2. Personally, I think this game is the best in the series. But it's mine Subjective opinion, perhaps tied, among other things, to a nostalgic mood towards her. It's still nice to sometimes turn on the survival battle mode with bots.

Pokémon Red, Blue, Green and Pokémon Gold and Silver

In 1996 year Nintendo released Pokémon Red, Blue and Green in Japan on the Game Boy. These were the first games in the Pokemon series on the console. The three versions sold 23.64 million copies. As we can see, the popularity of Pokemon was already affecting the sales of video games, so the success of Pokemon Go is quite logical.

Let's remember what Pokemon Red looked like on Game Boy in 1996. With such graphical capabilities then it was necessary to create excellent gameplay. Or is the main thing to choose the right characters, what do you think?

Two new versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver were released in 1999 on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. They couldn't match the success of their predecessors, but still sold 23 million copies, making them some of the best-selling video games in history.

To the 151 types of Pokemon from previous versions, 100 more were added, bringing the total number of characters to 251. To collect all the Pokemon, it was not enough to go through one game - for example, Gold. Users needed to exchange Pokemon with players of the Silver version, as well as older games.

Some more ear balm in the form of old 8-bit music in Pokemon Silver gameplay.

Nintendogs

Long before the goat simulator, but after the Tamagotchi, Nintendo decided to make a dog simulator for the DS console. From 2005 to 2011, Nintendogs sold 23.64 million copies.

In the game you need to take care of a dog, controlled using a touchscreen and microphone. You can communicate with other users using wireless communication between consoles.

Diablo III

The famous RPG Diablo III was released in 2012. The game set a record for daily sales of games for personal computers - 3.5 million per day. Sales reached 6.3 million copies in the first week, and 30 million copies were sold in total. Perhaps if Diablo III had been released on several platforms at once, it would have broken Call of Duty's records.

Diablo III received a warm welcome, but fans who played previous versions decided that the atmosphere was not the same. The colors are too bright, not enough gothic, and so on. In this regard, they put forward a petition to Blizzard demanding to change color scheme. The company refused.

Below is the trailer for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls.

Super Mario

Any ranking like this should have Super Mario. If we were talking about gaming franchises, this character would be at the top. Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (in Russia read “for Dendy”) it sold 40.24 million copies.

The game was made into an anime, a strange 1993 feature film, and, of course, porn, in which Ron Jeremy took part. Nintendo had to buy the rights to two porn films in order to bury them forever. But Youtube remembers at least such a small cut without, in fact, the main action.

The list of best-selling games in history includes Mario Kart Wii, New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Each of these games sold at least 23 million copies. But the total sales of all games in the franchise are 528 million units.

Grand Theft Auto V

The GTA series owes much of its popularity to the ability to move freely around the world and do whatever you want. If you want, crush people, if you want, you carry out tasks, if you want, you kill prostitutes. Because of the latter, the game Grand Theft Auto V was even banned in Australia.

The game was released in September 2013 on seventh generation consoles, in 2014 on eighth generation consoles and in 2015 on personal computers.

The PC version with 60 FPS and Full HD turned out amazing.

The game's advertising campaign went off with a bang and with a scandal. In the poster below you can easily recognize Lindsay Lohan; moreover, the game has a mission where you need to save a character with a biography similar to Lohan’s from the paparazzi. But on the covers of the game it’s not a famous actress, but model Shelby Welinder. The actress sued Rockstar and lost.

In total, the game sold 65 million copies.

The predecessor to GTA V, the fourth part of Grand Theft Auto, released in 2008, sold 25 million copies. It never surpassed 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with 27.5 million sales. You can remember your childhood with San Andreas today on Android, but you will have to pay more than five hundred rubles. It’s blasphemous to profit from nostalgia like that.

Welcome to the Jungle - Guns"n"Roses are invited to GTA: San Andreas.

Wii Sports

The Wii Sports action game went on sale in November 2006 and has sold over 82 million copies. The recipe for success turned out to be simple - the game was delivered directly in the box with the Nintendo Wii console in all countries except Japan.

The game has received various awards for innovation gameplay. This collection of five sports simulators involves motion control using controllers.

Mobility in the game has become a double-edged sword. On the one hand, people began to get off the couch and spend time together playing exciting games. On the other hand, televisions suffered from this.

Controllers flying out of hands was not uncommon. After all, each of the sports in the set - tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing - involves active swinging of the arms. You can simply forget that the bowling ball is rolling inside the game and try to knock down the pins with the plastic thing in your hand.

Minecraft

So beloved by the younger generation, Minecraft has sold 107 million copies. In 2011, Swedish programmer Markus Persson, who founded Mojang, released it on Windows, OS X and Linux. A few months later it came out on Android, iOS, and then switched to gaming consoles Xbox 360 and One, PlayStation 3, 4 and Vita. In 2014, Microsoft bought the Minecraft developer for two billion dollars.

The game has become one of the most popular in the world. In total, more than 107 million copies were sold. But why did it become popular in the first place? Why do schoolchildren love her so much and constantly make videos on YouTube?

Perhaps, as in the case of GTA, the openness of the game world plays a big role. Minecraft gives room for imagination and creativity. You can hunt, you can build buildings and cities, or blow things up. And all - in a world similar to Lego. And almost everyone loves Lego.

Tetris

On June 6, 2016, Tetris turned 32 years old. This game has been on almost all gaming platforms, as well as on graphing calculators and media players. They want to make a sci-fi feature film based on it in China. Moreover, this will be done by American producer Lawrence Casanova, who is responsible for the film “True Lies”, and also took part in several animated television projects for Lego.

What about a calculator, you could play Tetris on the wall of a skyscraper

The game was created by Soviet programmer Alexey Pajitnov. The name comes from "tetromino" and "tennis". Tetraminos are geometric figures from four squares. There are seven such figures in Tetris. The pieces fall into a glass 10 squares wide and 20 squares high. The goal is to collect a horizontal row of 10 cells that then disappear.

Over the history of the game, it has not only been ported to all sorts of platforms, but also the rules have been changed, complicated, and improved. Tetris was made three-dimensional, it was colored and black and white, with a variety of musical accompaniments. They even sell “physical” Tetris. In 2009, designer Andrew Liszewski began selling his 360-degree version, in which a figure appears in the center and then falls to whichever side the player chooses by flipping the console.

Atari bought the rights to use the game in slot machines. Nintendo received the rights to port it to the NES and Game Boy. Then, in the late 1980s, the game came to Sega. And in 1996, Pajitnov founded the Tetris Company to start receiving money for his invention. In 2014, Tetris Company announced a deal to port the game to Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

As of 2014, the number of mobile installations of the game was 425 million, 35 million on Game Boy, plus about 70 million copies were sold. It is difficult to say how many unlicensed cartridges and devices with this game were sold.

So Tetris is not just a leader, but an absolute leader with a huge advantage.

Let's now talk about your favorite games. It doesn't matter how many copies of these games were sold. What did you like to play in the past, and what do you still play now?

The sales level does not always indicate the quality of the game, and its success is measured not only in numbers. However, often these numbers indicate that the project turned out at least good. We have conducted in-depth research using the most modern techniques(thanks, Google), and compiled a list of the best-selling PC games of all time. All data is based on statistics from the Statista service for January.

The list, as expected, included both time-tested hits from the studios Blizzard and Valve, as well as quite unexpected projects. Please note that we did not take into account sales of various add-ons for games already present in the selection. And although some of these DLC sold quite impressive copies, we focused exclusively on full-fledged games. There are also different parts of the same series missing. Otherwise, the entire list would be filled exclusively with games from the Sims series, and no one needs that. Now is the time to go through the selection.

Worldwide circulation: 2.96 million copies

Star Wars: The Old Republic created a huge buzz when it was released, so it's no surprise that it made the list. The vibrant MMORPG from Bioware developed the ideas laid down in the Knights of the Old Republic series, turning the world familiar to many into a full-fledged MMO.

A couple of months after its release, Old Republic acquired a shareware model, and all kinds of additions for the game are still being released to this day. However, the quality of Old Republic remains top notch, and you can sign up for free at any time and start your adventure.

World circulation: 3.61 million copies

The first Doom game became so popular that many offices banned it because their employees spent hours playing the game. Of course, everyone was looking forward to the sequel called Hell on Earth, which in the end did not disgrace the honor of the original. Doom II: Hell on Earth was in no way inferior to its predecessor and delighted with many innovations. There are still heated debates over which of the two parts was better.

In fact, the 1993 Doom may well have sold more widely than the sequel. But since at first the game had stripped-down shareware versions distributed free of charge, it is difficult to even imagine what the potential profit could be.

Worldwide circulation: 3.88 million copies

It took developer Bethesda a lot of time to create a truly iconic RPG within the Elder Scrolls series. Arena and Daggerfall acted as a test of the pen, and Morrowind and Oblivion are considered by many today to be among the best representatives of the RPG genre. Therefore, it is quite logical that the fifth masterpiece from Bethesda eventually took place of honor on the list of the best-selling games in the history of the industry.

Skyrim is a true landmark of the genre, setting the direction for all modern open world games. The price for the enhanced edition of the game is $59.99.

World circulation: 4.12 million copies

Half-Life is an iconic series. The game had a huge impact on the first-person shooter genre, and no one has yet managed to surpass it. Hence the impressive circulation. And despite the fact that Valve has released quite a few amazing projects, Half-Life is rightfully considered to be developed by this studio.

Half-Life is an incredibly exciting adventure, and the game's sales once again confirm this.

Worldwide circulation: 4.21 million copies

Before the release of the MMO World of Warcraft, the gaming community enthusiastically played Warcraft. Each new entry in Blizzard's revolutionary RTS series was unique in its own way, but Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness turned out to be unique precisely in terms of sales.

The game was released in 1995 for the DOS operating system, but its well-developed mechanics ensured Warcraft II true immortality. If you love the RTS genre, but haven't played any of the Warcraft games before, then it's time to catch up.

Worldwide circulation: 4.84 million copies

And again we have a project from Blizzard (by the way, not the last on this list). More precisely, another sequel to the successful RTS from Blizzard. Interestingly, Starcraft ended up being noticeably more successful than Warcraft. Today it is one of the largest eSports disciplines, and Starcraft II, which was developed for 11 years, raised the bar for the quality of RTS games to a completely new level, improving all the advantages of the original tenfold.

In light of the news about the upcoming remake of the first part, it's time to refresh your memory and dive into the world of Starcraft II.

Worldwide circulation: 5.12 million copies

Yes, the photo under the title is not a screenshot from the 1982 game, but it is much nicer to look at. But the numbers under the title are the actual sales level of Microsoft Flight Simulator, released in 1982. This game was ported to the IBM operating system and used as a benchmark test to show that the computer was "100% compatible with the IBM OS." That’s why the game sold a decent amount of copies.

Since then, several new installments of Microsoft Flight Simulator have been released, each offering improved graphics, interface and controls. However, if you want to touch the real legend, you can find the original (albeit quite difficult).

Worldwide circulation: 5.14 million copies

The third game from Blizzard on the list. Despite the rather lukewarm reception from the public immediately after release, Diablo III sold more than 5 million copies. Following the formula of the very popular Diablo and Diablo II, the third part showed what a modern action-RPG should be, delighting gamers with exciting gameplay and chic graphics for those times.

At first, many were annoyed by the need to constantly connect to the Internet, without which the game refused to start, but since then this flaw has already been corrected.

Worldwide circulation: 6.29 million copies

Warcraft may have been the first, but World of Warcraft was much more successful in every way. This MMO is the main benchmark for all other games in the genre, as well as an integral part of popular culture. The game managed to appear even in such famous shows as 20/20 and South Park. Of course, the current version of World of Warcraft is not much like the original, but it is still very popular among PC gamers, which is why it managed to take second place on this list.

The days of Vanilla World of Warcraft are long gone, but many remember this particular version with warm nostalgia.

Worldwide circulation: 8.01 million copies

It is because of this game that we decided not to include various DLCs in the list, because otherwise more than half of the positions would be taken up by Sims variations. The Sims 3 turned out to be the most successful of all the parts, beating the legendary World of Warcraft by 2 million copies sold. Thanks to the insane popularity of The Sims 3, even people who previously stayed away from consoles (or PC games) turned into avid gamers.

Of course, The Sims is not for everyone, but the series should be respected at least for its resounding success.

The best of the best

These were the 10 best-selling PC games of all time. In different sources, information about their circulation may differ slightly from each other, but in general the picture looks exactly like this. These 10 projects deservedly hold the record for sales in the field of computer entertainment.

Of course, you can’t collect all the cult games on PC in one article, otherwise it will turn out a whole encyclopedia, but we still compiled a list of the coolest games of all time in our opinion.

Long gone are the days when computer games were entertainment for schoolchildren, a kind of privilege or the lot of those who, instead of reading books, preferred to degrade behind the monitor. And how many myths still hover around games! And they cause addiction, and they instill false values, and they teach cruelty, it’s just a nightmare. In fact, everything turned out to be almost the opposite. For example, in some large companies they even believe that a person who has managed to competently manage his own guild in WoW is able to organize the work of employees better than someone who does not have similar experience in the virtual world.

The gaming industry, like literature and cinema, does not just create new entertainment, but changes the world. And the better the product, the better the quality of these changes. Games that force us to think through our actions several moves ahead, design something new, make moral choices and empathize with characters - isn't this real art?

The Elder Scrolls

Every RPG fan is probably familiar with the TES series. The first game, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, was released for DOS back in 1994, but even an avid Skyrim fan may well have never heard of it. The second part, Daggerfall, despite its commercial success, was nicknamed “Buggerfall” because of a bunch of bugs.

But with the release of Morrowind, each subsequent part invariably topped the tops of the best RPGs thanks to the concept of “be who you want, do what you want” and a leveling system based on the constant use of skills, and not the banal accumulation of experience.

Warcraft

It’s unlikely that Blizzard Entertainment, when releasing the first game in the Warcraft series, Orcs & Humans, in 1994, could have imagined that it would become the ancestor of one of the most popular franchises in the world. The third part, despite its venerable age, is still considered one of the best RTS and has a huge fandom. Warcraft owes this to its cool plot, interesting history of the world and characters, and, of course, to the developers who devoted a significant part of their life to their brainchild.

World of Warcraft

The story of Warcraft has ended, because the story of World of Warcraft has begun. Since 2004, this truly iconic MMORPG has been depriving millions of players around the world of free time and sleep. Blizzard has firmly hooked them on this drug, generously flavoring each addition with new races, classes, locations and other content.

In 2008, WoW was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular MMORPG, and in 2014, the developers counted more than 100 million accounts created over the 10 years of the game’s existence.

Dota 2

Now Dota 2 is the most popular MOBA and eSports discipline with prize funds, amounting to millions of dollars, so it’s hard to believe that it all started with a simple fan addition to Warcraft III. Dota changed developers more than once, and only in 2009 Valve took over the game. Dota 2 can be downloaded on Steam completely free of charge.

Diablo

Diablo is another Blizzard creation that is included in the Guinness Book of Records: the second part of the series received this honor for its record number of sales. To this day, the series is considered the standard of Action/RPG, and every game in the genre strives to receive the title of “Diablo killer.” But in most cases, the result is simply decent or not very good clones. And it’s unlikely that anyone will actually be able to kill Blizzard’s great and terrible creation.

StarCraft

Let's talk again about the creativity of Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft can rightfully be considered the best real-time space strategy, although it did not become a pioneer in the genre, losing the palm to Dune 2. A cool, intriguing plot, perfectly honed balance, and a variety of tactics and missions raised StarCraft to enormous heights and helped it become a full-fledged e-sports discipline .

The Witcher

Despite its relative youth, The Witcher has already become, without exaggeration, a cult RPG. The gloomy and cruel world of Sapkowski, devoid of “black and white”, his complex characters who every now and then have to make difficult decisions and put up with their consequences - isn’t this a recipe for an ideal deep RPG?

Game designers lament that the third part of the series set too much high bar, which you try to jump to. Well, the developers can only try even harder so that their creations do not look gray and boring compared to the Witcher.

Fallout

Prince of Persia

The adventures of the Prince of Persia, who finds himself in the most dangerous adventures with enviable regularity, began back in 1989. Naturally, a lot has changed since then, but everything that made us love the series has been preserved - a well-preserved oriental atmosphere and complex acrobatics, forcing the player to always be on the alert and improve their skills.

Tomb Raider

Smart, inventive, dexterous and brave Lara Croft - ideal heroine for action adventure. Since 1996, we've watched Tomb Raider get involved in interesting stories and life-threatening alterations on television screens, monitors, pages of books and comics. And in 2013, a complete relaunch of the cult old games of the Tomb Raider series took place.

Age of Empires

Age of Empires is one of the most successful real-time strategy series in which players became participants in real historical events, standing shoulder to shoulder with real historical characters. Although many consider the third part to be a failure compared to the previous ones, the gaming community still pins its hopes on Age of Empires IV, but so far exact date release unknown.

Civilization

Heroes of Might & Magic

It just so happened that the Heroes series, originally planned as a spin-off of the RPG Might & Magic series, became more popular than its predecessor and grew into an independent franchise. The third part of Heroes remains to this day the standard of turn-based strategy in a fantasy setting.

Lineage II

Lineage II is a classic MMORPG, following the best traditions of the genre and probably killing players no less time than the great and terrible World of Warcraft. By 2014, the number of accounts in the Line exceeded 20 million. Those who are not bothered by constant grinding, farming and PvP battles are especially welcome here, so large-scale that you can easily feel like an ordinary unit from StarCraft.

Dark Souls

Series Dark Souls is quite young (the first part was released in 2011 on PS 3 and X360, in 2012 on PC), but has already gained the status of a cult game thanks to its deep combat system and high complexity of gameplay and has proven that the maximum simplification of the gameplay in Action/RPG has already not in fashion. The lack of ability to save whenever you want, and hardcore battles will definitely tickle your nerves.

Dragon Age

Dragon Age is another cool RPG series, which takes place in a classic world for the genre, where fantasy races and magic are intertwined with the European Middle Ages. But besides the real world, there is another dimension - the Shadow, where representatives of almost all intelligent races fall in their dreams, and magicians can travel there while awake, although this threatens them with demonic possession.

Assassin's Creed

The Assassin's Creed series tells the story of the confrontation between the Assassins and the Templars, which has lasted for centuries. The action of the legendary action adventure film takes place in different eras, while real historical events, for example, Great French revolution or Crusades, intertwined with alternative history and science fiction.

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is one of the most popular and successful fighting game franchises. Initially, the games in the series were developed for arcade machines, but were later transferred to other platforms. Children of the 90s practically grew up watching Mortal Kombat, despite the cruelty and rivers of blood. Many of them still remember in what order to press the buttons to cause fatality to the enemy.

Total War

Warhammer

The history of the Warhammer universe began in 1983 with books and board games, and its popularity owes to its harsh realism and thoughtful world, based on the Germanic Renaissance. The setting includes Warhammer Fantasy - games set in all the canons of fantasy worlds, and Warhammer 40,000, where fantasy and Science fiction go hand in hand.

Grand Theft Auto

If you want to experience all the delights of life outside the law in your own skin, feel free to download GTA and enjoy dangerous and immoral tasks. Since the third part of the GTA series games have broken sales records and become so popular that even Hollywood stars, for example, Samuel L. Jackson and James Woods, were not averse to voicing their characters.

Need for Speed

Need for Speed ​​is the most successful racing series in video game history. With each new part, the races and police pursuits became more and more spectacular, the choice of cars and tuning options became wider, and the player reviews became more and more enthusiastic. In 2014, a film adaptation of the same name was released, which was received quite warmly by the public.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a cult series of first-person shooters with elements of adventure action, RPG and survival horror, inspired by the Strugatskys’ story “Roadside Picnic” and the film “Stalker” by Tarkovsky. World of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. scary, cruel, dangerous and stunningly realistic - the developers traveled to the exclusion zone more than once for the sake of their creation.

Half-Life 2

HL2 is a sci-fi shooter that has collected a mind-boggling number of awards. The game brought the player’s interaction with the outside world to a new level, showed unprecedented character animation, realistic physics, and advanced AI of opponents. Its sales since its release have already exceeded 12 million copies.

Mass Effect

The original Mass Effect trilogy tells the story of the brave Captain Shepard, who, along with faithful comrades trying to prevent the Reapers from entering the Galaxy, who had already destroyed one ancient civilization, and then forced to fight these killing machines. The Mass Effect universe has acquired books and comics, and in 2012 an anime based on it was released. Feature film fans of the game series have been promised it since 2010, but so far things have not gotten off the ground.

Battlefield

This series of tactical and strategic first-person shooters became popular after the release of the first part, Battlefield 1942, in 2002. This is largely due to the multiplayer for several dozen people, with the choice of a side in the conflict, a character class with unique weapons and the ability to control ground, air and water technology.

Call of Duty

The Call of Duty shooter series, which began its triumphal march in 2003, continues to this day - the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is scheduled for October 12, 2018, and in 2019, if rumors are to be believed, Modern Warfare 4 should be released. Games in the series touches not only on real historical events of the 20th century, but also tells what the Third World War could have been like.

Doom

An entire generation spent dozens of hours of their lives playing games, despite their parents' protests, in order to play Doom, destroy hordes of demons and save the Earth. Books are written and films are made about this hardcore shooter, and for many it became the first game in their lives.

Left 4 Dead

Humanity has been struck by a virus that turns people into bloodthirsty monsters, and only a handful of survivors must confront them. Thanks to its intense gameplay and high replay value, the Left 4 Dead series firmly holds its position among the best shooters.

BioShock

Dead Space

The chilling horror game forces the player to escape from the terrible necromorphs that have infested his spaceship. Despite the not-so-high ratings of the plot and certain gameplay elements, the Dead Space series is one of the best space horror films in history.

Max Payne

The noir shooter Max Payne, released in three parts, was bought by more than 7.5 million people. The story of a fugitive policeman who lost his family and dreams of taking revenge for it, and was also unfairly accused of murder, really touched many people.

Hitman