Apparently, single player games are dead or undesirable according to one of the biggest video game companies in existence. It's the one that keeps releasing the same game too often. Basketball and soccer games, by the way; not assassin or war junkie simulators. Thankfully, that sentiment is just a joke and not exactly true; otherwise, the biggest single-player games past 2018 wouldn't have been financial powerhouses.

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Also, a lot of these games, despite not having the multiplayer focus of Battlefield, or FIFA, are household titles or even dinner table topics. And if word-of-mouth isn't enough to convince fans that these video games aren't part of a 'dying' gameplay mode, then numbers ought to speak for themselves. These single player games of the past three years are very much alive and kicking.

8 Elden Ring

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  • Publisher: Bandai Namco
  • Number of sales: 13.4 million and counting back in March 2022
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows

During its first month alone, Elden Ring had already sold more than 13 million copies. Throughout the first half of 2022, it continued shooting to the top of the sales charts and has even made a comeback after slowing down a bit. While the game technically has multiplayer via co-op and invasions, it's largely a single-player experience.

In fact, its co-op and invasion mechanics can be janky and easily purged using some single-player mechanics. In any case, Elden Ring's existence and success not only can prove that people still like single-player games, but they also aren't tired of Soulsborne games just yet.

7 Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla world
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Total revenue: $1 billion
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows

There are many ways a cocktail of hooded assassins, vikings, and the most common RPG mechanics could have turned out sour, but one has to give credit to Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It not only made Ubisoft a lot wealthier, but it also served as the highest point for the franchise.

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Vikings were probably the best-selling point here. Ubisoft doesn't seem to have publicly disclosed the actual number of copies sold, but during its first week, the game already had nearly 2 million players. That could mean the first month of sales of the game were probably enough to recuperate its overall budget. Because come 2022, Assassin's Creed Valhalla was already Ubisoft's 2nd most profitable title with a revenue of $1 billion. It's not clear how much of this revenue was from microtransactions or actual video game copies sold.

6 Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 Pugilist Challenge
  • Publisher: CD Projekt
  • Number of sales: 18 million+ copies
  • Platforms: Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows

Despite being one of the worst and most notorious video game launches in the industry's history, Cyberpunk 2077 is no doubt impactful. In 2020, back in its launch year, it sold 13.7 million copies. In the following year, it sold 4.3 million more. Only around 33,000+ of those were refunded, but those figures are still impressive considering Sony pulled the game out of the PlayStation Store for a time.

Now, with huge fixes and updates such as patch 1.5, the game remains one of the most popular titles today. With the game becoming more playable and polished, it's fair to assume that it will sell more, especially once the DLCs are out. Regardless, this exclusively single-player RPG has made history both in sales and reputation.

5 The Last Of Us Part 2

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The Last of Us Part 2 could have sold less and still have a good excuse because it's a PlayStation-exclusive, but it exceeded expectations and then some. As of spring 2022, Naughty Dog— the game's developer studio, has confirmed 10 million copies sold (and probably counting).

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It's also worth noting that The Last of Us Part 2 also has the same framework as God of War (2018). Both games are linear action-adventures that are mostly story-driven. For reference, God of War also sold extremely well and has around double the sales of The Last of Us Part 2. If anything, Sony's single-player exclusives keep rivalling FIFA sales numbers; although, it's also worth mentioning that those sports games come out every year.

4 Ghost Of Tsushima

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  • Publisher: Sony
  • Number of sales: 8 million copies
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Yet another Sony PlayStation exclusive, Ghost of Tsushima is one of the breakout video games of 2020. Its sales figures are quite close to The Last of Us Part 2, though the game might owe a chunk of its sales to the PS5 re-release.

Even so, Ghost of Tsushima's stylistic story-telling as well as its interesting cast of characters contributed much to the sales and mostly positive reception. The game does have casual multiplayer, but it was primarily released as a single-player title; much of its core gameplay focuses on single-player stories and missions.

3 Dying Light 2: Stay Human

Dying Light 2
  • Publisher: Techland
  • Number of sales: 5 million+ copies
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows

Dying Light 2: Stay Human might have only sold 5 million copies (which looks small compared to the others on this list), but it was just released in February 2022. It still has a long road of profits ahead of it. And if Techland is expected to treat the sequel the same way as Dying Light (attentive DLCs, and frequent updates), then Dying Light 2: Stay Human will inevitably have even more sales.

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And they might; during its first month alone, the game had already sold 5 million copies. 3 million of those purchases came from as early as the first week. Like Ghost of Tsushima and Elden Ring, Dying Light 2: Stay Human also has a casual multiplayer component via co-op, but it's definitely not as polished or as in-depth as the single-player experience. The game focuses on the latter.

2 Resident Evil 2

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  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Number of sales: 9.6 million+ copies
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows

Resident Evil Village might be the new kid in town, but Resident Evil 2 is looking more popular, especially when it comes to sales. The legendary remake has already achieved financially more than its original 1998 counterpart.

As of December last year, Resident Evil 2 was reported in at 9.3 million copies. At the moment, it seems the game currently stands at 9.6 million units or copies sold, which is impressive as it's a single player horror game. It's not clear whether Resident Evil Village will reach those numbers or not, but whichever the case is a win-win for Capcom.

1 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

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  • Publisher: EA
  • Number of sales: 10 million copies back in March 2020
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows

EA, the same publisher throwing shade at single player games, was happy enough to present players with a single player game called Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order back in 2019. EA was even happier when this single player game exceeded expectations, because two years ago (2020), it was already pushing past 10 million units or copies sold.

The numbers could be even bigger now, especially with an impending 2022 release date for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2. A year ago, July 2021, the latest report for Jedi Fallen Order was that it had 20 million total players. That doesn't mean 20 million units sold, but most likely somewhere near that ballpark. With EA's current jab at single player games, they might just 'roast' themselves again come Jedi Fallen Order 2.

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