We have ushered in a new generation with the release of the PlayStation 5. Many people have turned their focus to the new console, looking forward to all the exciting exclusives that are on the horizon. Still, it's worth remembering how Sony got here.
The Playstation 4 was a massive success, with many believing it's one of the best consoles ever made, let alone the best console ever made by Sony. The console was a great upgrade hardware-wise, but what made the system so great was its games. The library was deep, filled with exclusives and blockbuster hits that sold well on the PS4.
Updated May 3, 2020, by Chris Birsner: Despite the PS5 being out for some time now, games from the Playstation 4 continue to sell big. This is especially true for games that were massive hits on the console that have continued to build upon the sales numbers they've hit previously. Most of the games on this list also haven't received PS5 versions yet, which makes seeing the games continue to sell that much more fascinating.
10 Horizon Zero Dawn/The Last Of Us Remastered
Total Sold Each: 10 million+ copies
Two games are tied for tenth on the all-time best-selling list for the PlayStation 4. One is a PS4 exclusive from Guerilla Games, Horizon Zero Dawn. The other is a remaster of the PlayStation 3 hit The Last Of Us by Naughty Dog.
Horizon is an action RPG where you play as Aloy, a hunter who is looking to discover her past in a machine-filled world.
The Last Of Us is an action-adventure and survival horror game that revolves around Joel, who is trying to protect and transport Ellie, a girl who is immune to the apocalyptic pandemic. The game sold around 20 million copies across both consoles.
9 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Total Sold: 10.8 million+ copies
The ninth best-selling game is one made by CD Projekt Red, a company that was beloved before it released Cyberpunk 2077. Their long-standing series, The Witcher has always been a hit and their third game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, sold 10.8 million copies to make the all-time PS4 list.
The players are Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter who is looking for his adopted daughter. Based in a Slavonic fantasy world, the action RPG tasks players with killing monsters and completing tasks to improve on Geralt's skills.
8 FIFA 18
Total Sold: 11.8 million+ copies
Sports games are always rather popular, so it's no surprise that one game in the genre made it into the top ten. FIFA 18 is the eighth highest-selling PS4 game. The association football series' 25th installment included 52 fully licensed stadiums from 12 countries and north of 700 teams to play as.
The game featured a sequel to a story mode first introduced in FIFA 17 called "The Journey." Since data from the previous game can be carried over, the story's main protagonist Alex Hunter is the main star once again.
7 God Of War
Total Sold: 12 million+ copies
The year 2018 was a wild one for video games, and while there were plenty of solid exclusives for the Playstation 4, none stood out quite like God of War. Developed by Santa Monica Studios, the revival of the franchise came in a shift in origin as the setting revolves around Norse mythology rather than Greek mythology.
The game once again stars Kratos, but along with him comes his son Atreus. Together, the two characters look to spread Atreus' mother's ashes at the highest peak of the nine realms while also fighting off and dealing with monsters and gods.
6 Marvel's Spider-Man
Total Sold: 13.2 million+ copies
With all the accolades rained upon God of War, there was a console exclusive that outsold it in 2018. Of course, it helps that the protagonist has a worldwide brand beyond video games. Marvel's Spider-Man comes in at sixth overall, selling 13.2 million copies.
The open-world action-adventure game stars Peter Parker as he fights against the evil Mister Negative, who is trying to release a deadly disease to take control of the criminal underbelly. Meanwhile, Parker's personal connections beyond Spider-Man are also a key part of the story, making the game both action-packed and personal.
5 Call Of Duty: WWII
Total Sold: 13.4 million+ copies
There's no doubt that Call of Duty is a massively popular franchise. The classic first-person shooter is featured twice in the top five best-selling PS4 games. The first entry on the list is Call of Duty: WWII, coming in at five.
The series returned to its origins as this game is set in the European theatre of World War II. The game featured a single-player campaign, a hugely popular multiplayer mode, and a cooperative game mode that implemented zombies.
4 Red Dead Redemption 2
Total Sold: 14 million+ copies
Rockstar Games also has two iterations of their games in the top five. The fourth-best selling game from the PS4 era was Red Dead Redemption 2. Based in Western times, the sequel to the highly successful PS3 game has players take on the role of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw who is part of the Van der Linde gang and must deal with many forces during the decline of the wild west.
The game also has a widely popular multiplayer mode that allows players to explore and fight in the open-world environment.
3 Call Of Duty: Black Ops III
Total Sold: 15 million+ copies
The second Call of Duty game on this list, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, is third on the best-selling lists. The successor to 2012 hit Black Ops II, this game takes place about 40 years later in 2065.
The game follows a group of black ops soldiers who are dealing with a world suffering from climate change. This entry was significant because its DLC was a timed exclusive for the PS4, which likely helped contribute to the higher sales on this console, compared to everywhere else.
2 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Total Sold: 16 million+ copies
Naughty Dog had a second appearance on this list, but this time for a game that came out for and exclusively on the Playstation 4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End supposedly completed the character arc of Nathan Drake after four games as the central protagonist.
The game focuses on Drake coming out of retirement after his brother Sam, who he assumed was dead, comes back to convince Drake to find the treasure of Henry Avery because otherwise Sam would be killed. It is the highest-selling exclusive on the PS4 and comes in at number two.
1 Grand Theft Auto V
Total Sold: 20 million+ copies
A game that came out before the release of the PlayStation 4, the remastered version of Grand Theft Auto V blew the doors off any other game released for the system. The game featured upgraded graphics as well as a first-person mode.
This was the first game in the series where players could play as three protagonists instead of just one. While the single-player campaign was a big deal, the multiplayer mode titled Grand Theft Auto Online has become the main reason the game is still going today and is being ported to the Playstation 5.