Red Dead Redemption 2: third best-selling game ever after 85 million copies sold

Red Dead Redemption 2 is now the third best-selling video game on commonly cited lifetime charts. Take-Two Interactive disclosed more than 85 million copies sold worldwide during its fourth quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings call on May 21–22, 2026, enough to move Rockstar’s 2018 western past Wii Sports (about 82.9 million units bundled with the Wii) and into a podium slot behind only Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V.

What Take-Two reported

CEO Strauss Zelnick told investors the game posted its strongest annual unit sales since its launch year in the period just closed. That is unusual for a title approaching its eighth birthday, still sold primarily as a premium single-player package, and still waiting on an official native PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series build.

Outlets including IGN and trade press covering the earnings cycle reported the same totals Take-Two filed: roughly 79 million units by late 2025, then a climb past 85 million by the March 31, 2026 fiscal year-end that Take-Two cited in May. No major story expansion or new console SKU shipped in that window.

The top of the chart

Analysts and press still rank the leaders this way at the summit:

• Minecraft — about 350 million copies across editions
• Grand Theft Auto V — about 230 million
• Red Dead Redemption 2 — 85 million plus
• Wii Sports — roughly 82.9 million (now fourth on most lists)

Wii Sports had held a top-three position for roughly two decades as a pack-in phenomenon. Red Dead Redemption 2 got there on full-price sales, holiday discounts, and platform re-releases—not a hardware bundle.

Two Rockstar hits in the top three

No other publisher has two of the three best-selling games: GTA V in second and Red Dead Redemption 2 in third. Take-Two also said the broader Red Dead line—including the 2010 original and the 2023 remaster—has crossed 112 million franchise units.

Red Dead Online never matched GTA Online as a live revenue engine, so this milestone is almost entirely boxed software and catalog pricing rather than recurring subscriptions.

How the total built over time

The game launched in October 2018 and moved about 23 million copies in its first two months. Public Take-Two updates since then tracked roughly 50 million by 2022 and about 79 million before the latest jump—steady quarter-to-quarter movement without the kind of content cadence live-service hits rely on.

What players and investors watch next

A native current-generation port would likely accelerate the count the way refreshed SKUs often do for catalog blockbusters. Grand Theft Auto VI remains scheduled for November 19, 2026, which will dominate Rockstar’s production calendar, but the sales curve suggests the Red Dead brand still has room before any sequel moves from rumor to announcement.

If you skipped the 2018 launch, the ranking is a timing signal: PC still supports mods and high refresh rates, consoles still see periodic discounts, and the campaign remains the draw—not a rotating battle pass.

This article reflects Take-Two’s Q4 FY2026 earnings disclosures and press coverage through May 25, 2026. Chart positions follow unit sales totals publishers report; bundled and free-to-play titles use different counting rules on some industry lists.