Did you know PlayStation is enjoying its 30th anniversary in USA today?
These celebrations do tend to drag on forever due to the lag that used to exist between hardware launches. You may recall, we already commemorated PlayStation’s 30th anniversary last year, as it deployed a year earlier in its native Japan.
Anyway, to mark the occasion, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella has released a list of the top 20 best-selling PlayStation games ever in USA. That extends to all platforms.
Happy (NA) Birthday to PlayStation, first released on September 9, 1995.
Here are the top 20 all-time best-selling games on PlayStation platforms in the US, from Circana’s Retail Tracking Service.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2025-09-09T13:43:33.742Z
The results may surprise you because they’re much more modern than you’d think, both across dollar and unit sales. Obviously, the price of games has increased so that dramatically affects the former, but the contemporary nature of the list applies to the latter, too.
So, what are the results?
Well, as you’d probably expect, Grand Theft Auto 5 is the best-selling game in terms of dollar sales and units, which is no major surprise.
Minecraft is second in terms of units but seventh in dollar sales, due to its lower price.
Much of the top ten is made up of various Call of Duty games, with Red Dead Redemption 2 also recognised. In terms of PS2 titles, only GTA: San Andreas and GTA: Vice City feature.
Credit must go out to Sony’s more recent exclusives, like Marvel’s Spider-Man, God of War, and The Last of Us. They all feature on a list that’s mostly dominated by Call of Duty. (You can see why Sony was so upset about that Activision acquisition, eh?)
In terms of dollar sales, we’d also like to spotlight Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s appearance. Considering that game is only two years old, it shows how well it’s doing – although obviously it’s higher selling price is a factor here. (Although you could apply that logic to dozens of other titles which don’t feature, too.)
It’s worth noting that games included in hardware bundles aren’t included here, so that’s why you’re not seeing the likes of Gran Turismo 3.
The main takeaway for us is just how recent and modern both of these lists look. It shows how much the industry has grown since the PS1 and PS2 days, because aside from those classic GTA releases, nothing else from that era gets a look in.
[source bsky.app]
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As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.