The seven-year-long Xbox One and PS4 generation is reaching the end of its cycle, with the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 set to kick off a new era of gaming.
Whereas Sony is looking to stay traditional with its PS5, Microsoft is set to change the way that its games are purchased with a Netflix-style subscription service. Microsoft has leaned heavily into the pre-existing service by including EA Play and purchasing ZeniMax Media, accompanied by the announcement that upcoming Bethesda games will be included in Game Pass. Interestingly, this means that the Xbox One is likely going to be the last generation of Xbox console where best selling games is a relevant statistic.
Although the Xbox One was outsold by its competitor, the console still had numerous excellent games that sold extremely well.
10 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (78)
The bottom game on this list scoring a respectable 78 bodes well for the Xbox One, as a console's best selling titles can make or break a system. This is best exemplified by the Atari 2600, as two of the revolutionary console's best selling games were so bad that they almost crashed the gaming industry entirely.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is the first of an impressive three Call of Duty titles to feature on this list. The 2016 game didn't get off to the best of starts as its trailer is still one of the most disliked videos in the history of YouTube, due to fans displeasure over the futuristic setting. Evidently, the game still sold well, however, it handed a fanbase to EA's WWI shooter Battlefield 1, which outsold it considerably.
9 Call of Duty: WWII (80)
Conveniently, the follow up to Infinite Warfare is the next game on this list. Activision and Sledgehammer Games seemingly listened to the outcry over Infinity Ward's Infinite Warfare, so decided to take the series back to its roots.
The WWII setting was clearly a ploy to win back FPS fans who had either jumped ship to Battlefield or lost interest in the online shooter genre entirely. Activision accompanied the fan-favorite WWII setting with a marketing campaign based around the slogan "Get Your Squad Back Together".
8 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (81)
The third and final Call of Duty game to appear on this list, Black Ops 3 was developed by Treyarch and released in 2015, making it Infinite Warfare's direct predecessor.
Black Ops 3 differentiated itself from previous Black Ops games with its Thrust Jump. The Thrust Jump was a rechargeable, momentum-based jump and movement system allowing players to boost into the air while still maintaining the use of their gun.
7 Halo 5: Guardians (84)
Halo 5: Guardians was 343 Industries' second main series Halo game following Halo 4. Xbox's mascot Master Chief returned once again to provide some of the best FPS gameplay on the Xbox One.
The game was praised for continuing the series' tradition of excellent level design and fun multiplayer but was criticized for its convoluted and disjointed plot.
6 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (85)
PlayerUnkown's Battlegrounds is one of the most influential games of the eighth generation of home consoles, with its battle royale gameplay that has formed a new genre of gaming. The battle royal genre isn't just for third-person-shooters though, as gaming classics like Tetris and Super Mario have jumped on the hype train and implemented the playstyle into spin-off games.
Despite PUBG's excellent sales, it's not unreasonable to say that the game was short-changed. As Epic Games' Fortnite pulled the rug out from underneath Battlegrounds, with a battle royal game that took many of PUBG Corporation's ideas. In fairness to Fortnite, it offered a free-to-play and completed product, in comparison to PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds' technically faulty early-access product that charged people to play. PUBG Corporation sued Epic Games in response to this, but the lawsuit was dropped.
5 Battlefield 1 (87)
The aforementioned Battlefiled 1 capitalized on the outcry over Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's futuristic setting by taking players back to what was once known as the war to end all wars, WWI.
To say that Infinity Warfare was entirely responsible for Battlefield 1's success would be a great disservice though. EA Dice earned its impressive sales figures with one of the Xbox One's best online multiplayer offerings, led by the series' trademark Conquest mode.
4 Fallout 4 (88)
Bethesda may not have offered another Elder Scrolls game this generation, but they did provide the long-awaited follow up to Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.
Fallout 4 is one of Bethesda's most divisive games, exemplified by its lackluster 6.5 User Score, contrasting its Metacritic score. The game was praised by critics for its impressive open-world but criticized by fans for its redundant speech options and repetitive fetch quests.
3 Minecraft: Xbox One Edition (88)
According to IGN, Minecraft is the second best selling game ever! The revolutionary sandbox game's success inspired Microsoft to purchase its developer and publisher Mojang Studios for $2.5 Billion.
The game has come on leaps and bounds since its initial release. Improvements to the game include the implementation of horses, the villagers and pillagers update, and the aquatic update.
Minecraft received the same score as Fallout 4. As a tie-breaker, it lands higher on this list as it sold more units.
2 Red Dead Redemption 2 (97)
Red Dead Redemption 2's whopping score of 97 gives it plenty of breathing room ahead of the list's previous entries. Rockstar Games rarely misses the mark when it comes to their AAA releases, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is no exception.
The game offered some of the most incredible realism seen in gaming up until this point, especially with the weather effects and animal behaviors. Like many Rockstar games though, the eye-watering score is largely due to the huge open-world that is wonderfully designed and densely populated with side activities.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was also lauded for its story that was far more fleshed-out and emotional than what is expected from a Rockstar game.
1 Grand Theft Auto 5 (97)
Grand Theft Auto 5 is not only the joint highest-scoring game on this list, but it is the highest-selling game too. This is especially impressive as, although it's easy to forget now, the game was originally released on the Xbox 360.
Grand Theft Auto 4 may have a higher Metacritic score, but there's no doubt that GTA 5 greatly improved the scale of the series. Along with its ever-expanding online mode is one of the most impressive, immersive, and detailed open-worlds in gaming history.
GTA 5 was released on the Xbox One a year after the console hit stores. It wasn't just a straight port though as the updated iteration offered graphical enhancements and let players change to a first-person perspective for the first time in the series.