The Best-Selling Games on the Xbox One

Despite Microsoft’s best efforts to come out of the gate strong with its 8th-gen console positioned as an all-in-one media hub, the Xbox One couldn’t hope to compare with the likes of the PlayStation 4. The main reason for this was the staggering number of first-party exclusives on the PS4 that proved to be bona fide system-sellers, which the Xbox One simply didn’t have to the same degree (though there were plenty of excellent first-party Xbox Game Studios titles worth picking up for the console). Looking at the list of best-selling games on the Xbox One shows that third-party titles stole the show, with Microsoft’s console one of the best places to pick up online shooters, racing games, and other multiplayer-centric titles that shone on Xbox Live.

• Release Date — September 15, 2015
• Developer — Turn 10 Studios
• Publisher — Microsoft Studios
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 1 million units

The 6th Forza Motorsport game continued to push the envelope of what was possible in terms of console graphics, boasting some of the most impressive and realistic visuals of any game in the Xbox One library. The return of night races and inclement weather events from the first Forza Motorsport were also a nice touch. After the somewhat disappointing Forza Motorsport 5, though, the improvements that Turn 10 Studios made to Forza Horizon 6 seemed to be a case of “too little, too late”, with the 6th entry failing to meet the sales success of its predecessor despite netting a more positive critical reception.

• Release Date — November 22, 2013
• Developer — Crytek
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 60% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 1.28 million units

As one of the Xbox One’s few launch games, Ryse: Son of Rome was practically bound to be one of the system’s best-selling titles. All the more surprising, then, that Ryse was generally panned by critics. One of the few genuine cult classic titles of the 8th generation, Ryse was able to endear a dedicated following from players who enjoyed its simplistic, but fun, hack-and-slash gameplay in a visually stunning recreation of Ancient Rome.

• Release Date — August 29, 2017
• Developer — Studio Wildcard
• Publisher — Studio Wildcard
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Survival
• Review Aggregate Score — 69% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 1.5 million units

The release of Ark: Survival Evolved was almost perfectly timed with the rising popularity of survival games, which came about naturally after a generation of kids weaned on Minecraft grew up hungry for darker, more challenging experiences with a similar sandbox structure. Unfortunately, the promise of Ark: Survival Evolved was much more appealing than the actual gameplay, with Studio Wildcard failing to deliver on some of the game’s more ambitious elements. It still managed to sell just over 1.5 million units on just the Xbox One, never mind the ultra-successful PC and Switch versions.

• Release Date — December 6, 2016
• Developer — Capcom Vancouver
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash
• Review Aggregate Score — 72% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 1.6 million units

The fourth mainline Dead Rising game, and second from the partnership between Xbox Game Studios and Capcom Vancouver, is perhaps the worst game in the series. But that didn’t stop nearly 2 million players from picking it up, if for nothing else than to see original series protagonist Frank West return to the iconic Willamette Mall. Mixed reviews aside, Dead Rising 4 is still a great time if all you’re in the mood for is some hack-and-slash zombie action with outlandish weapons and plenty of Capcom Easter Eggs.

• Release Date — January 26, 2018
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 1.78 million units

Speaking of Capcom, Monster Hunter World was the Monster Hunter series’ breakout moment in the West, and that included its Xbox One version. Over on Microsoft’s 8th-gen hardware, the semi-open world Monster Hunter World managed to sell almost 2 million units, with a sizable portion of those being picked up in just the first couple of months of the game’s release. The eventual launch of the Iceborne expansion only further solidified Monster Hunter World as a must-have action RPG in the Xbox One library.

• Release Date — October 28, 2014
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 1.9 million units

Before Insomniac Games would get the chance to deliver one of the best PS4 exclusives with Marvel’s Spider-Man, the Sony first-party studio entered an exclusive one-game partnership with Xbox Game Studios to develop one of the Xbox One’s first big (and best) exclusives: Sunset Overdrive. Part Ratchet & Clank (another Insomniac Games classic) and part Dead Rising, Sunset Overdrive is a zombie apocalypse game with plenty of insane weaponry, some fantastic movement and traversal, and plenty of zany humor. And in the early days of the Xbox One, an exclusive as strong as Sunset Overdrive was a rare commodity, resulting in it quickly selling almost 2 million units.

• Release Date — November 22, 2013
• Developer — Turn 10 Studios
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 2 million units

The biggest gripe that players have against Forza Motorsport 5 is that it was a rushed game that failed to move the needle for the franchise in the same way that the Forza Horizon spin-off series was. But even with those very fair criticisms, the Forza series’ place as one of the Xbox One’s most important and successful first-party franchises was unshakable. It may be the lowest-rated game in one of the most respected and long-running driving simulation series, but Forza Motorsport 5 still managed to sell 2 million copies.

• Release Date — September 27, 2016
• Developer — Playground Games
• Publisher — Microsoft Studios
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 2.5 million units

The two mainline Forza Motorsport games on the Xbox One may have had some mismatched critical and commercial reception compared to past entries, but the Forza Horizon spin-off series really took off during the era. Forza Horizon 3, in particular, was a major step forward for the open-world racing series, taking players all the way to the geographically diverse Australia and delivering a bevy of worthwhile content to get lost in. You could even argue that Forza Horizon 3 lays the foundation for the incredibly successful Forza Horizon 4 and 5.

• Release Date — September 29, 2017
• Developer — StudioMDHR
• Publisher — StudioMDHR
• Genre — Run ‘n Gun
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 3 million units

You may be able to get Cuphead on just about every platform under the sun these days, but when it first launched, it was an Xbox One and PC exclusive. That exclusivity, together with Cuphead‘s incredibly positive player and critical reception, made it a must-have for Xbox One owners. The “rubber hose” animation-style visuals of Cuphead are the main surface-level draw that brought players to the game, but the ultra-challenging but rewarding run ‘n gun gameplay is what cemented it as a million-selling indie highlight.

• Release Date — December 10, 2020
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Genre — Action RPG, FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 61% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 3.2 million units

When Cyberpunk 2077 initially launched in December 2020, it was arguably one of the most-hyped games of all time. Indeed, the love players had for The Witcher 3, together with what had been shown off of Cyberpunk at major gaming showcases, brought anticipation for Cyberpunk 2077 to a fever pitch, helping it move millions of units in no time at all. Unfortunately for Xbox One owners who picked up the 8th-gen version, the experience of playing Cyberpunk 2077 was a far cry from what those early trailers promised. Cyberpunk 2077 did improve for PC and 9th-gen console owners, but Xbox One and PS4 players had no recourse other than seeking a refund.

• Release Date — November 17, 2015
• Developer — EA DICE
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Genre — FPS, Third-Person Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 3.66 million units

Shooters were the bread and butter of the Xbox One library, and Star Wars Battlefront was no exception. Electronic Arts’ decision to revive the Battlefield franchise was a wise move on the publisher’s part, as was getting Battlefield developer DICE to take the reins of the series’ new entry, but the insistence on loading the game full of pay-to-win microtransactions ultimately ruined the multiplayer balance. That, plus a relative lack of content to keep players engaged long-term, made Battlefront fall off as quickly as it sold almost 4 million units.

• Release Date — November 22, 2013
• Developer — Capcom Vancouver
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 3.8 million units

Considering the first Dead Rising was a major exclusive for the Xbox 360, it makes sense that the series pivoted back to being a first-party Microsoft exclusive after the multi-platform second entry, and Dead Rising 3 was perfectly timed as a launch title for the Xbox One. It also happens to be one of the best and bloodiest games in Capcom’s short-lived hack-and-slash zombie apocalypse series, taking itself a little bit more seriously than the campy, over-the-top first and second entries.

• Release Date — May 19, 2015
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 4.3 million units

Like Skyrim in the generation prior and Knights of the Old Republic the generation before that, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was the definitive RPG of the 8th console generation and one of the Xbox One’s must-have titles. That it’s still just as impressive today as it was 10 years ago justifies its place as one of the Xbox One’s (and the PlayStation 4’s, for that matter) best-selling games.

• Release Date — November 4, 2016
• Developer — Infinity Ward
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.79 million units

Infinite Warfare continued the futuristic lean of the Call of Duty franchise that had started with Advanced Warfare and continued with Black Ops III, but it failed to hit the highs of either. Still, Infinite Warfare did manage to sell almost 5 million units, and that’s without the advantage of being packaged with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare like its predecessor.

• Release Date — October 27, 2015
• Developer — 343 Industries
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5 million units

Selling just over 5 million units is a sure sign of success, but it’s also a far cry from the previous figures achieved by other games in the Halo series, underscoring Halo 5‘s place as one of the least-loved entries in the franchise. Since its initial launch, though, players have circled back to Halo 5 specifically for its top-tier multiplayer suite, which helped give the game’s sales a bit of a longer tail than some of the other shooters on the Xbox One.

• Release Date — November 4, 2014
• Developer — Sledgehammer Games
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5.22 million units

Ultimately, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare features one of the better single-player campaigns in the series (especially of the 8th-gen offerings). But it’s still hard to shake the feeling that a large portion of the game’s success is owed to its being packaged with the remaster of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Whatever the case, Advanced Warfare moved more than 5 million units on the Xbox One, but has since been mostly forgotten by fans in favor of other, more recent Call of Duty games.

• Release Date — November 3, 2017
• Developer — Sledgehammer Games
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 6.23 million units

The Call of Duty franchise’s return to its traditional World War II setting was a major event for shooter fans and a perfect way for the franchise to compete with Battlefield‘s use of a World War I setting in Battlefield 1. As such, you would expect that Call of Duty: WWII would have been one of the series’ best-selling games, but it wasn’t; far from it. Still, out of the 19 million units that Call of Duty: WWII sold across all platforms, 30% of them were specifically on the Xbox One.

• Release Date — November 6, 2015
• Developer — Treyarch
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 7.37 million units

Just about every game in the Black Ops series of Call of Duty titles is a major commercial success, but not all of them have the same hold over the fanbase that Call of Duty: Black Ops III does. Black Ops III took the series firmly into the future and brought a killer campaign and some fantastic multiplayer along with it. Black Ops III has sold more than 43 million copies across all platforms, 7 million of which are solely on the Xbox One.

• Release Date — September 4, 2018
• Developer — PUBG Studios
• Publisher — Krafton
• Genre — Third-Person Shooter, Battle Royale
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 9 million units

The original battle royale and one of the must-play shooters on the Xbox One, PUBG: Battlegrounds was nothing short of a phenomenon when it first launched. After all, recall that Fortnite wouldn’t have become one of the biggest games in the world were it not for being influenced to replicate PUBG: Battlegrounds‘ model. It would eventually come to other platforms, but when it originally launched, it was an Xbox One exclusive, helping it blow past 9 million units and acting as an instrumental piece of the battle royale phenomenon.

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

With how successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was on the Xbox 360, it comes as no surprise to see that the 2019 remake of Modern Warfare is the Xbox One’s best-selling game. Even less surprising when you realize that both the reworked single-player campaign and the multiplayer suite of the new Modern Warfare deliver some of the best Call of Duty gameplay that the franchise had seen in quite a while at the time of its release. People knock the Call of Duty franchise for playing it too safe, but you can hardly blame Infinity Ward when players clearly love the familiarity of their favorite series entries.