In three decades of PlayStation, one truth has become impossible to ignore: the best-selling titles on Sony’s consoles are utterly dominated by Call of Duty and Rockstar Games. This isn’t shocking news — we all know how massive those franchises are — but seeing the data in black and white really drives it home.
The Numbers That Tell the Story
On the 30th anniversary of the PlayStation’s U.S. launch, Circana’s Mat Piscatella shared a breakdown of the top-selling PlayStation games of all time. The list spans from January 1995 through July 2025, covering the full PS1 through PS5 eras.
The results? Out of the top 20 games ranked by pure dollar sales, 15 are either Call of Duty or Rockstar titles. That’s a staggering dominance from just two publishers: Activision and Take-Two Interactive.
All-Time U.S. Top 20 Best-Selling PlayStation Games (1995–2025)
| Rank | Dollars | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto V | Grand Theft Auto V |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) | Minecraft |
| 3 | Red Dead Redemption II | Red Dead Redemption II |
| 4 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas |
| 5 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) |
| 6 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Marvel’s Spider-Man |
| 7 | Minecraft | Call of Duty: Black Ops III |
| 8 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War |
| 9 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City |
| 10 | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) |
| 11 | Marvel’s Spider-Man | Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 |
| 12 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| 13 | Call of Duty: Black Ops | The Last of Us |
| 14 | Call of Duty: WWII | God of War (2018) |
| 15 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |
| 16 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) | Call of Duty: Black Ops |
| 17 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 | Rainbow Six: Siege [Tom Clancy’s] |
| 18 | Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II |
| 19 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Call of Duty: WWII |
| 20 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 |
The Unstoppable Force of GTA and Call of Duty
Unsurprisingly, Grand Theft Auto V sits at number one on both lists, leading in both total dollar sales and units sold. The game has become a cultural juggernaut, staying relevant across three console generations.
Behind it, Call of Duty fills in much of the chart, with annual releases consistently climbing to the top year after year. Last year’s Black Ops 6 even managed to crack the top five in dollar sales and land at 11th in total units sold — all in under a year since release. That’s the kind of brand recognition most series can only dream of.
Other Heavy Hitters
There are a few notable exceptions in the rankings. Minecraft comes in with the second-most units sold overall, though it ranks seventh in dollar sales. And Marvel’s Spider-Man from 2018 is one of the biggest surprises, placing 11th in dollar sales and sixth in total units — outselling giants like Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Still, these are outliers. The chart is a stark reminder of just how deeply Rockstar’s open-world epics and Activision’s FPS empire dominate the PlayStation landscape.
Looking Ahead
With Grand Theft Auto VI set to launch in May 2026, it’s almost guaranteed the list will be shaken up again. And given the unrelenting popularity of Call of Duty, you can safely expect Black Ops 7 to carve out a spot as well. Three decades in, one thing is clear: when it comes to PlayStation’s sales history, it’s GTA and CoD’s world — we’re all just living in it.
