The Best-Selling Games on the PS4

When it comes to home consoles, the PlayStation 2 is still the single best-selling piece of hardware, but the PlayStation 4 isn’t far behind. Sony’s 8th-generation juggernaut corrected all the missteps of the PS3, coming out of the gate strong and generating an early lead against its Xbox One and Wii U competitors. The key to the PS4’s success was its exclusive games, many of which were published by Sony as first-party titles that could only be played on the hardware, in an era before Sony’s support of PC ports. Looking at the list of best-selling games on the PS4 shows that this strategy paid off massively, with a shocking number of the console’s most successful titles falling under the first-party exclusive umbrella.

• Release Date — April 26, 2019
• Developer — Bend Studio
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 71% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 7.32 million units

Despite some middling review scores, players seemed to gel much more strongly with Bend Studio’s Days Gone, helping it sell an impressive 7 million units just on the PS4 (a number it would later smash with its PC port). And in hindsight, the perception toward Days Gone has transformed to one much more positive, with it now being recognized as an underrated first-party exclusive in the PS4 library and a unique take on the open-world format that implements some surprising survival game mechanics. Unfortunately, the initial cool critical reception to Days Gone meant that Sony passed on Bend Studio’s sequel pitch, meaning we’ll likely never know what a Days Gone 2 could’ve been like.

• Release Date — March 24, 2015
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 7.6 million units

Considered by many to be FromSoftware’s magnum opus and one of the best action RPGs ever made, Bloodborne is perhaps the best game on the PS4 to remain trapped on the hardware. Fans will likely continue to beg for a PS5 remaster or PC port for as long as Sony lets the game languish in the past, which is a shame considering how beloved it is among FromSoftware fans. For a brutally difficult game that intentionally upends player expectations based on the Dark Souls franchise, it’s surprising to see that Bloodborne sold nearly 8 million units, but that also is a level of success befitting its place as an undisputed masterpiece of horror gaming.

• Release Date — November 17, 2015
• Developer — EA DICE
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Genre — FPS, Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 8.42 million units

As is common among these kinds of lists, a game doesn’t necessarily have to set critics alight in order to enjoy some substantial commercial success, which is absolutely the case with Star Wars Battlefront. Battlefront cashes in on the Star Wars license and the legacy of the Battlefront franchise to deliver a mostly competent third and first-person shooting game structured around massive multiplayer battles, but its overreliance on microtransactions and pay-to-win mechanics sullied what would have otherwise been a stellar experience. Still, the pull of a multiplayer Star Wars shooter and continuation of the excellent Battlefield line of games was enough to help this one sell almost 8.5 million units.

• Release Date — November 4, 2016
• Developer — Infinity Ward
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 77% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 8.48 million units

If you go back and look at all of the best-selling games by year for the last decade, you’ll probably not be surprised in the slightest to see that a Call of Duty title lands either at or near the top for every year between 2014 and 2024. Accordingly, the 8th generation of console gaming was stacked with best-selling titles in the Call of Duty franchise, with even some of the more average-to-lower-than-average games in the franchise selling millions of copies. Case in point: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. While Infinite Warfare isn’t bad, per se, it is one of the weaker games in the franchise, and its nearly 8.5 million units in sales were no doubt influenced by its inclusion of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered as a free perk.

• Release Date — July 17, 2020
• Developer — Sucker Punch Productions
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 9.73 million units

As one of the last big exclusives for the PS4 to release just ahead of the launch of the PS5, Ghost of Tsushima was primed to be a perfect swansong for the console. No surprise, then, that it managed to earn plenty of critical praise and commercial success as the open-world feudal Japan adventure that players had been wishing for ever since the Assassin’s Creed franchise started letting players take part in virtual historical tourism. What’s arguably even more impressive is that, for all its sales on the PS4, Ghost of Tsushima would turn around and release its Director’s Cut version just a year later and go on to sell an additional 13 million units across PS4, PS5, and PC.

• Release Date — October 7, 2015
• Developer — Bluepoint Games, Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Compilation
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 9.98 million units

Before it got to really flex its muscles on the incredible Shadow of the Colossus and Demon’s Souls remakes, Bluepoint Games did a commendable job remastering the first three Uncharted games for PS4 as the Nathan Drake Collection. And considering how successful all three of those titles were on the PS3, it’s no surprise to find out that the Nathan Drake Collection was one of the best-selling games on the PS4, moving nearly 10 million units and getting players primed and ready for the conclusion to Nathan Drake’s saga with Uncharted 4 the following year. 10 Years later, this collection is still one of the best compilations of action-adventure games for either the PS4 or PS5.

• Release Date — June 19, 2020
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Stealth, Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 10.3 million units

Even with the devastating pre-release leaks that revealed key components of the game’s story, leading to plenty of online outrage over the treatment of certain characters, The Last of Us Part II had one of the most successful launches of any PS4 game. Even more impressive when you consider its release late in the PS4’s lifespan (just a few months ahead of the launch of the PS5) caused people to hold off on purchasing it in anticipation of an eventual remaster for newer hardware, a la its predecessor. The Last of Us Part II is a bleak game with some incredible combat and memorable setpiece moments that paint the original in a whole new context, and its success in the PS4 library is well-earned, even if it’s not your particular cup of tea.

• Release Date — May 18, 2015
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 10.8 million units

It’s safe to say that The Witcher 3 is one of the best (if not the best) open-world action RPGs of all time, so of course the game was a smashing commercial success on every platform it was released for. The PS4 version of The Witcher 3 boasts sales of nearly 11 million units, placing it well above the success of similar games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Mass Effect as the best-selling Western RPG on PlayStation hardware, which CD Projekt RED only validated further by giving away most of the game’s greatest DLC content for free. The success of The Witcher 3, and how CD Projekt RED responded to it with a massive “thank you” to the fans, is the primary driver behind the goodwill many feel toward the studio.

• Release Date — October 17, 2017
• Developer — Polyphony Digital
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 12.72 million units

By the time Gran Turismo 7 was released as a cross-gen title, most PlayStation players had already moved on to the PS5, which meant its PS4 sales lagged behind many of the other best-selling games on the console. Surprisingly, though, Gran Turismo Sport, which isn’t even a full-fledged entry in the series, managed to sell nearly 13 million units, which is a testament to the franchise’s place as one of the more important PlayStation exclusives. As it turns out, players were pretty excited about an online-focused game in the series that emphasized competitive online racing, but the eventual shutdown of Gran Turismo Sport‘s servers (and the release of Gran Turismo 7) has rendered it virtually obsolete.

• Release Date — November 3, 2017
• Developer — Treyarch
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 13.4 million units

After years of more modern and futuristic-leaning entries, Call of Duty returned to its roots with 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII, which was the first time the franchise had gone back to the Great War since 2008. Accordingly, fans were hyped for the franchise’s potential return to form with the new multiplayer mechanics and quality-of-life features that had become standard since Call of Duty 4, resulting in Call of Duty: WWII selling an impressive 13 million units to become one of the year’s best-selling games and one of the best-selling first-person shooters on the PS4. Now that I think about it, it’s about time for the series to do yet another World War II-set entry.

• Release Date — October 25, 2019
• Developer — Infinity Ward
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 13.6 million units

Just ahead of Call of Duty: WWII as one of the PS4’s best-selling shooters is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the 2019 remake of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Critics weren’t quite as pleased with the remake as they were the original (just look at the discrepancy between their review aggregate scores for proof), but the new multiplayer suite in the Modern Warfare remake ultimately proved to be one of the best in the Call of Duty series to that point, helping it quickly sell nearly 14 million units and become one of the must-have titles for the 2019 holiday season. And at the end of the day, the campaign of Modern Warfare still ranks as one of the all-time best in the FPS genre.

• Release Date — October 26, 2018
• Developer — Rockstar Games
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 14 million units

Commercial success isn’t everything, but Red Dead Redemption II is one of those rare instances of a game being a certified critical darling and also selling boatloads of copies. There’s a strong argument for Red Dead Redemption II being Rockstar Games’ magnum opus, especially when stacked up against every other non-Grand Theft Auto title that the studio has ever made, and it’s easily one of the best open-world action adventure games that money can buy. So to see that it sold 14 million units (roughly half of what GTA V‘s PS4 version was able to move) makes perfect sense. Nearly a decade after its release, Red Dead Redemption II is still moving units thanks to regular sales that let players grab it at a massive discount.

• Release Date — November 6, 2015
• Developer — Sledgehammer Games
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 15 million units

The best-selling Call of Duty game on the PS4 wouldn’t be a mainline entry but instead a fan-favorite chapter in the Black Ops spin-off series, with Call of Duty: Black Ops III smashing through previous sales records and selling just over 15 million units on PS4 alone. Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops III would also end up being the single best-selling game of 2015, moving millions of units for its PC and Xbox One versions as well. It happens to be one of the few futuristic-set Call of Duty games to outdo the more realistic modern military simulation titles and has one of the best multiplayer suites ever seen in the franchise — a bar that every subsequent Black Ops game has struggled to meet.

• Release Date — September 4, 2014
• Developer — 4J Studios
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Sandbox, Crafting, Survival
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 17 million units

As the single best-selling video game of all time, it comes as no surprise to see that the PS4 version of Minecraft also happens to be one of the console’s most commercially successful titles. It was a big deal for Minecraft to even make its way to a Sony platform after Microsoft’s acquisition of the console rights back in 2012, but knowing what we know now about Microsoft’s plans to make all their games multiplatform, it doesn’t seem so crazy in hindsight. Still, the hype for Minecraft‘s arrival on PlayStation hardware helped it become a huge success on the platform, selling 17 million units and earning plenty of critical praise as a great way to experience the sprawling survival sandbox on a home console.

• Release Date — July 29, 2014
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Stealth, Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 95% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 18.63 million units

When the PlayStation 4 launched, The Last of Us was only a few months old, causing plenty of players to bemoan the game not launching on next-gen hardware. Little did we know at the time that Sony would end up remastering and porting The Last of Us a ridiculous number of times, beginning with the release of The Last of Us Remastered just a year after the launch of the original. To its credit, Naughty Dog did right by fans and included the excellent Left Behind DLC that fleshes out Ellie’s backstory, which was a nice bonus on top of the already improved visuals and performance. And knock it all you want: when a remaster like The Last of Us Remastered sells nearly 19 million units, its clear there’s plenty of an audience for it.

• Release Date — May 10, 2016
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 18.65 million units

After a decade of adventures spanning the globe, intrepid treasure hunter Nathan Drake brought his story to an emotionally cathartic and happy ending with the incredible Uncharted 4, which is arguably the best game in the franchise and one of the PlayStation 4’s best exclusives. Fans were eager to see how Naughty Dog would stick the landing, especially after the developer’s darker turn with The Last of Us, and most of us walked away pleasantly surprised at how joyful and lighthearted Uncharted 4 ended up being, even though there were plenty of thrilling moments of adventure and suspense. 19 million units later, Uncharted 4 is a certified classic of the 8th generation and a strong contender for being one of the best action-adventure games of all time.

• Release Date — February 28, 2017
• Developer — Guerrilla Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 19.29 million units

Even with its launch being poorly timed alongside the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the Nintendo Switch’s killer app, Horizon Zero Dawn still managed to make quite the splash as PlayStation owners’ de facto version of a Zelda-like adventure. The success of Horizon was impressive enough to solidify it as one of Sony’s most important first-party franchises moving forward, and its remasters and sequel have only further underscored that point by becoming best-sellers in their own right. Not bad for a game that had to go toe-to-toe against one of the highest-rated and best-selling Zelda games in history.

• Release Date — April 20, 2018
• Developer — Santa Monica Studio
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 21.02 million units

Given how essential the God of War franchise was to both the PS2 and PS3’s success, it was only a matter of time before Sony figured out a way to bring Kratos back after God of War III. And when they did, they ended up delivering a game that outdid its predecessors in just about every way possible. The Norse saga of God of War that kicked off with the eponymous 2018 title is a more emotional and thought-provoking take on Kratos and his journey that still retains all the hard-hitting combat and bloodshed that the series is known for, but it elevates it in some pretty profound ways.

To say that God of War (and its sequel) has one of the best combat systems of any action-adventure game is not hyperbole. Accordingly, God of War‘s reboot was a major triumph for Sony and Santa Monica Studio, selling more than 21 million units and winning Game of the Year from multiple outlets.

• Release Date — September 7, 2018
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 22.68 million units

Right up there with God of War as one of the PS4’s most important exclusives is Marvel’s Spider-Man, which sits neck-and-neck with Batman: Arkham City as the best open-world superhero game ever made. Spider-Man was a great rendition of one of Marvel’s best characters that paid homage to his many appearances across the screen and page, but did so with a sense of humor, wit, and heart that was undeniably Insomniac Games. That it was released just months after God of War is almost unreal, giving Sony one of its most successful fiscal years in the company’s history with not one, but two games selling more than 20 million units that were exclusive to Sony hardware.

• Release Date — November 18, 2014
• Developer — Rockstar North
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 22.9 million units

Like The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V‘s release late in the 7th generation meant that next-gen remasters were almost a certainty, and they arrived just in time for the 2014 holiday as must-have titles for the PS4 and Xbox One. After already selling nearly 30 million units on the PS3, Grand Theft Auto V turned around and did it again on the PS4, moving just under 23 million units and getting millions of players hooked on its immensely successful Grand Theft Auto Online multiplayer mode.