15. Halo 3 - 2007
After years of anticipation and a groundbreaking marketing lead-up that promised the chance to finally “finish the fight!” Halo 3 would arrive to become one of the most impactful releases of its time and a major systems pusher for the Xbox 360.
Widely acclaimed for its ambitious campaign and content rich multiplayer suite, the game made colossal waves on release and maintained its position as the top multiplayer title for years, and even inspired an online film-making scene with its inventive forge mode.
Total Sales: At least 14.5 million copies.
14. Battlefield 1 - 2016
Providing a fresh new direction for the series that typically focuses on a modern tactical warfare setting, Battlefield 1 sought to establish a fascinating and unique approach to the epochal first World War in order to maintain the series popularity.
In expanding its narrative scope and bringing its massive-scale multiplayer into the past, the series was able to maintain its large audience of players addicted to explosive, strategic combat and even find a draw in new players, allowing the series to hit its commercial peak with this release.
Total Sales: At least 15 Million copies.
13. Call of Duty: World at War - 2008
After the series forever changed the shooting landscape with its transition into cutting edge modernist warfare, Activision took players back to the second World War to provide a more brutal and traditionalist series outing that now integrated the immediately successful multiplayer of the prior title.
It’s hard to believe that the series was in some ways still in its infancy here as its impressive sales cemented an immediate lockstep between the developers and the audience.
Total Sales: At least 15.7 million copies
12. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 2007
First person shooters would be completely reinvented after Modern Warfare hit the shelves in 2007, its hybrid approach to multiplayer gameplay with RPG systems such as a leveling system and custom class building would become the blueprint for the very notion of competitive online design that remains the default system for many games today.
The campaign was similarly celebrated, setting the breakneck pace and cinematic flare the series would follow going forward as well as kicking off the larger Modern Warfare story. This landmark moment for the genre easily justifies its impressive sales.
Total Sales: At least 15.7 million copies
11. Call of Duty: Ghosts - 2013
Arriving at the early days of a new generation of consoles, Ghosts saw the series expand its thematic approach to warfare with a sleeker and darker coat of paint.
New technology gave way to a higher fidelity approach to warfare, utilized in its meatier, slightly more cynical campaign and its expanded multiplayer system featuring new co-operative game mode Extinction, a yet unseen level of ambition for the franchise in its non competitive content.
This new approach was a major success, making it one of the best selling of the series.
Total Sales: At least 19 million copies.
10. Call of Duty World War II - 2017
Returning to the setting of World War II found a refreshed commercial interest in the series for audiences after some successively diminishing passion and public interest.
Ditching the modern trappings that defined the previous entries, the refocus on more fundamental first person mechanics, stripping away the additional excess and shifting focus to a more forward thinking approach to multiplayer setup with its ambitious Divisions system was a success, showing players still loved the series at its most historic and classical.
Total Sales: At least 19.8 million copies.
9. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - 2014
Ushering in the promise of what warfare might look like in the near-future, Advanced Warfare saw the series adopt further complexity in its mechanics and narrative.
This new approach increased the pace of the game, unveiling a layer of chaos and tactical nuance that kept the series at the top of the first person roster.
A change that would ripple out across the series until it would later intentionally return to its rudimentary core, though the market had certainly looked upon the new style and cadence favorably.
Total Sales: At Least 21 Million copies.
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - 2009
Following up on its groundbreaking predecessor, Modern Warfare 2 hit the charts running with its bombastic marketing campaign and jaw-dropping multiplayer spectacle.
Its focus on equalising the playing field with the new death-streaks made the game fundamentally more accessible, and further expansions to the original's formula with co-operative content ensured that the, the sequel would cement the Modern Warfare license as the franchises hallmark brand and even outselling the first game.
Total Sales: At Least 22 million copies.
7. Borderlands 2 - 2012
Despite the substantial success of the sequel, the original Borderlands experienced a slow start before collecting a cult audience that would grow into its major imprint over time.
Borderlands 2 further hones the unique properties of the original, with addictive RPG mechanics that spawned the looter-shooter sub-genre and some serious Joss Whedon writing dripping with quips and snark.
The dashing art style helps too, along with some impressive early reviews the game quickly became a smash hit rocketing the franchise to among the most popular first person shooters.
Total sales: At least 26 million copies.
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops - 2010
Landing before the highly anticipated closing act ofthe Modern Warfare trilogy, Black Ops staked its claim in the franchise with a fascinating thriller themed take on the Cold War.
With its striking historical mish-mash campaign and some of the finest map layouts the series offers (and that eponymous Nazi Zombies mode) the game became the first of its own trilogy, proving the series had more in store for the world than just Modern Warfare.
Total Sales: At Least 26.2 Million copies.
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - 2011
The third and final entry in the Modern Warfare trilogy would serve as the commercial apex of the original set of games, by focusing on increased accessibility and an ambitious narrative climax the game was able to dominate the first person market for that year (as well as stir up some significant media controversy boosting its status in the public consciousness).
The intense and addictive multiplayer would return further nuanced and diversified, leading to its impressive sales.
Total Sales: At least 26.5 million copies.
4. Duck Hunt - 1984
An early example of the now universal first person genre that landed long before its autonomous appeal, Duck Hunt also managed to be one of the best selling games of all time.
Charming, challenging, and instantly accessible (due to it featuring lightgun controls and Nintendo's signature family friendly approach), the game became a wild success and helped cement the NES as a home console hit years before first person games would figure out a console-friendly design framework.
Total Sales: At Least 28 million copies.
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - 2019
While the Call of Duty series has been consistently releasing titles since 2007, the series' propensity for incremental evolution shows it can easily maintain its commercial status by iterating on itself incrementally.
By returning to the setting and story that truly established the series, Modern Warfare 2019 would become the most successful title of the series and one of the bestselling first person shooters of all time by reforming the gameplay from the ground up and adding the series own answer to the Battle Royale format.
Total Sales: At least 30 million copies.
2. Overwatch - 2016
Rising from the ashes of failed Blizzard endeavour Titan, Overwatch presented the company's first new original property in over a decade in the form of a competitive team based shooter.
Its mass appeal owed to its diverse cast of characters hailing from numerous styles providing something for every kind of player by channeling styles and motifs from Japanese influence to comic book heroes. Its focus on accessibility and wide appeal proved to be an instant success, dominating the multiplayer market for years after release.
Total Sales: At least 35 million copies.
1.PUBG: Battlegrounds - 2017
Easily one of the most impactful breakthrough phenomena of the 2010s, PUBG grew into its unanimous status via humble beginnings, as a mod for popular military sim ARMA 2.
After launching as a standalone title, it quickly grew into a wild success fuelled by significant coverage on streaming platforms and providing shooter fans with a fresh spin on multiplayer gameplay inspired by Japanese cinema classics such as Battle Royale.
So successful and so revolutionary, that the majority of its contemporaries followed suit with their own spin on the format.
Total Sales: At least 75 Million copies.
