With thousands of games released across six home consoles and two handhelds, PlayStation’s library can feel overwhelming if you’re new. Where do you even start? A good approach is to look at two things: what sold the most, and what changed gaming. Sometimes those are the same game, and sometimes they aren’t.
In this guide, we’ll go generation by generation through the biggest sellers and the true icons, with the sales figures (and the date each figure is from) so you know exactly what “best-selling” means. Then we’ll finish with tips on how to play many of these today.
A Quick Note on Sales Numbers
Game sales figures are tricky. Publishers sometimes report units shipped to stores rather than units sold to players, and many figures are snapshots from a particular year that have never been updated. Throughout this post, we give the figure as reported on Wikipedia along with the date it applies to. A game’s true lifetime total may be higher.
The Original PlayStation (1994–2006)
Gran Turismo (1997)
The best-selling game on the original PlayStation isn’t a platformer or an RPG. It’s a racing simulator. Gran Turismo, directed by Kazunori Yamauchi, shipped 10.85 million copies worldwide (a figure reported in 2008). It took about five years to make, and its realistic driving physics, licensed real-world cars and license tests set it apart from the arcade racers of the time. Its sequel, Gran Turismo 2 (1999), shipped 9.37 million copies.
Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Square’s Final Fantasy VII sold over 10 million copies on PlayStation, making it the console’s second best-seller. Development originally started for the Super Nintendo, but Square moved it to PlayStation largely because of the extra space CDs offered. It was the first Final Fantasy with 3D graphics and full-motion video, and it is credited with boosting PlayStation sales and popularizing Japanese role-playing games around the world. Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth are still recognized everywhere, and the story is now being retold in a remake trilogy: Remake (2020), Rebirth (2024) and the upcoming Revelation (2027).
Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon
Before PlayStation had Kratos or Nathan Drake, it had a cartoon bandicoot. Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot (1996) sold over 6 million units, and its sequels were even bigger: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back sold 3.87 million copies in the U.S. alone. Insomniac Games’ Spyro the Dragon (1998) was part of Sony’s push to reach younger players and compete with the Nintendo 64. It started slowly but took off over the 1998 holidays and sold nearly 5 million copies. Both games were later remade in collections: the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017) and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy (2018).
Metal Gear Solid (1998)
Hideo Kojima’s stealth thriller sold more than 7 million copies and made Metal Gear a household name. Its cinematic cutscenes and fourth-wall-breaking surprises showed what a “movie-like” game could be.
Also Worth Knowing
The PS1 top five is rounded out by Final Fantasy VIII (8.6 million) and Namco’s fighting game Tekken 3 (8.3 million). Overall, 962 million PlayStation games had shipped by March 2007.
PlayStation 2 (2000–2013)
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
The best-selling game on the best-selling console is Rockstar North’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with 17.33 million units sold on PS2. Its massive open world, set in a fictional version of California and Nevada in 1992, defined a generation. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) was the third best-seller at 14.2 million.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001) and Gran Turismo 4 (2004)
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec sold 14.89 million units, making it the best-selling PS2 exclusive and, as of 2022, the best-selling game in the whole Gran Turismo series. Gran Turismo 4 added another 11.75 million.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
Kojima’s sequel was the fifth best-selling PS2 game with 11.24 million units.
God of War (2005)
Santa Monica Studio’s God of War didn’t top the charts, selling over 4.6 million units by June 2012, but it introduced Kratos, who went on to become one of PlayStation’s defining characters. (We have a full God of War deep dive on the site.)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
Some icons are about influence rather than sales. Team Ico’s Shadow of the Colossus, directed by Fumito Ueda, is a quiet, haunting game about hunting sixteen giant creatures across an empty land. It’s a favorite among game designers, and it was remastered for PS3 in 2011 and rebuilt for PS4 by Bluepoint Games in 2018.
PlayStation 3 (2006–2017)
The PS3 era was when Sony’s own studios turned into powerhouses. Multi-platform hits like Grand Theft Auto V (2013) and Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) sold strongly on PS3, but the exclusives are what fans remember:
- God of War III (2010) sold over 5 million copies by June 2012 and brought Kratos’s Greek saga to a brutal end.
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) made Naughty Dog’s Nathan Drake PlayStation’s answer to Indiana Jones.
- The Last of Us (2013), also by Naughty Dog, is widely ranked among the greatest games ever made. By April 2018 it had sold 17 million copies across the PS3 original and the PS4 Remastered version combined.
Over one billion PS3 games had been sold worldwide as of May 2025.
PlayStation 4 (2013–present)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)
Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man, released September 7, 2018, is the second best-selling PS4 game of all time behind Grand Theft Auto V. Wikipedia lists it at 20 million copies as of early 2022. Swinging through New York City still feels fantastic, and the game launched a whole series, including Miles Morales (2020) and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023).
God of War (2018)
The Norse reboot of God of War sold more than 5 million copies in its first month and 23 million by November 2022, making it the best-selling game in the series. It also won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2018.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (2016)
Nathan Drake’s farewell has sold over 18 million copies (per Wikipedia), making it the best-selling Uncharted game.
Ghost of Tsushima (2020)
Sucker Punch’s samurai adventure, set during the Mongol invasion of Tsushima island, had sold over 13 million units by September 2024 across all versions.
The Last of Us Part II (2020)
Naughty Dog’s divisive, ambitious sequel won more than 320 Game of the Year awards and had sold over 10 million copies by June 2022.
PlayStation 5 (2020–present)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023)
Released on October 20, 2023, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 sold 2.5 million units in 24 hours, becoming PlayStation’s fastest-selling first-party title, and reached over 11 million units as of April 2024.
God of War Ragnarök (2022)
Released on PS4 and PS5 on November 9, 2022, Ragnarök sold 5.1 million units in its first week, then the fastest-selling first-party launch week in PlayStation history, and more than 15 million by November 2023.
Astro Bot (2024)
Made by Team Asobi to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, Astro Bot is a joyful platformer packed with cameos from PlayStation history. It won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, making it an easy first pick for newcomers of any age.
Gran Turismo 7 (2022)
The latest main Gran Turismo brought back the series’ traditional career mode and later added PS VR2 support.
Where Should a Beginner Start?
- Want pure fun? Astro Bot or the Crash/Spyro remakes.
- Love superheroes? Marvel’s Spider-Man, then Spider-Man 2.
- Want a big story? The Last of Us Part I or God of War (2018).
- Into cars? Gran Turismo 7.
- Curious about classics? PlayStation Plus Premium includes a catalog of PS1, PS2 and PSP games, and many favorites have modern remasters.
Final Thoughts
PlayStation’s best-sellers tell a story of their own: racing sims and RPGs ruled the early days, open worlds took over the PS2 era, and Sony’s own studios have produced the biggest hits since. Whichever era you start with, you’re in for some of the best games ever made.
What’s your all-time favorite PlayStation game? Tell us in the comments!
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