Highlights
- Many of the most popular Switch games have been released in the past few years, indicating that the console still has plenty of active users despite its age.
- The top-selling Switch games are all first-party titles, which tends to be a common trend with Nintendo consoles.
- The success of these games is helped by the Switch’s large install base and dominance in multiple regions.
Whether or not the Nintendo Switch has enough fuel left in the tank to become the best-selling video game console of all time remains to be seen, but there’s definitely still life in the old dog just yet. Two of the most popular Switch games were released in the year or so leading up to the time of writing, suggesting that many of the people who picked up Nintendo’s popular handheld system are still actively playing it today.
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Every Mario Game on the Nintendo Switch, Ranked
From precision-based platformers to creative RPGs, the best Mario games for Switch span multiple genres and should appeal to gamers of all ages.
The top-selling Switch games aren’t all that recent though, with many of them having built up their sales totals steadily over a number of years. Between them, they’ve shipped well over a quarter of a billion units, thanks in large to the console’s dominance in multiple regions across the planet. All of the best-selling games on the Switch are first-party titles too, as is often the case with Nintendo’s consoles.
The following list of the most popular Switch games uses
sales data provided by Nintendo
. All of the figures are accurate up to December 31, 2023, unless otherwise stated.
10 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
17.20 Million Sales
The first of several Wii U titles that received enhanced ports on the Switch, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was released in early 2019. It brought with it plenty of extra content, including a brand-new playable character, improved visuals, and the New Super Luigi U expansion.
Thanks to the Switch’s significantly larger install base, the game sold considerably better than its Wii U counterpart, smashing through the three million mark in just its first three months on the market. Sales have continued to trickle in since then, helping it to become one of the most popular games on Switch.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- January 11, 2019
9 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
20.28 Million Sales
Given the critical and commercial success of its predecessor, the impressive sales figures for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to many. It sold more than ten million copies in its first three days and was bearing down on the 20 million mark not too long after that.
In many ways, Tears of the Kingdom is the perfect sequel, building upon everything that made the original game so great while also introducing plenty of new ideas of its own. Its world is considerably larger too, with vertically playing an important role in the popular action-adventure game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- May 12, 2023
8 Super Mario Party
20.34 Million Sales
Despite most players and critics preferring Mario Party Superstars, it’s Super Mario Party that finds itself among the best-selling Switch games. This likely has something to do with the fact that the latter was released more than three full years earlier and can often be found on sale.
Every Mario Party Game, Ranked
Nintendo’s Mario Party titles are party game classics, but which ones are the best to ruin your friendships with, and which ones are the worst?
Other than coming up a little short in the content department though, Super Mario Party is still a decent enough game. It’s significantly better than Mario Party 10, with much more emphasis placed on having fun and creating fierce yet friendly rivalries among players.
Super Mario Party
- Developer(s)
- NDcube
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- October 5, 2018
7 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
24.36 Million Sales
Technical limitations aside, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet marked a huge leap forward for the long-running creature-collecting franchise, providing players with a fairly sizeable open world in which to explore and have fun. Its unique main story was also incredibly refreshing, allowing players to tackle the three main storylines in any order they like.
A lot of the games’ success was built upon the strong foundations laid by Pokemon Legends: Arceus and the previous generation of Pokemon games in general. Sure, Scarlet & Violet still have their fair share of problems, but it’s easy to see how they became two of the top-selling games for Switch.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Released
- November 18, 2022
6 Pokemon Sword & Shield
26.17 Million Sales
The Pokemon series isn’t best known for innovation, with very few changes typically made between titles. Given its status as one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, this reluctance to fix what isn’t broken is understandable, really, but it’s always nice when developers do decide to go against the grain.
Pokemon Sword & Shield are nowhere near as revolutionary as the Gen 9 Pokemon games, but they did bring with them a few big changes. Among these are the games’ approach to DLC content and the Wild Area, which helped to set the stage for open-world exploration in future games.
Pokemon Sword and Shield
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- November 15, 2019
5 Super Mario Odyssey
27.65 Million Sales
It’s been quite a while since a mainline Mario game has been the best-selling title on a Nintendo home console, with Super Mario 64 the last title to achieve this way back in 1996. Barring some small miracle, it seems incredibly unlikely that Super Mario Odyssey will buck this trend, but that’s not to say that it isn’t still a truly fantastic game.
The Best Super Mario Games, Ranked
From RPG to racing carts, and a creative mix of 2D and 3D animations we got to see in Paper Mario, Mario games have been released in all genres.
Whether or not it quite matches the excellence of the Mario Galaxy titles is debatable, but few could earnestly complain about what’s on offer here. The capture mechanic really helps to freshen up the formula, while the ridiculous amount of content ensures that the fun keeps on coming long after the credits have finished rolling.
Super Mario Odyssey
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- October 27, 2017
4 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
31.61 Million Sales
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild isn’t the first open-world Zelda game. Far from it, in fact. However, neither of the ones that preceded it captured the imaginations of mainstream gamers quite like this one, with its brilliantly designed setting helping the game to sell more than 30 million units and counting.
Hyrule wasn’t the only thing that changed in Breath of the Wild either, with the game mixing up the series’ tried and tested formula in a number of different ways. Dungeons make way for shrines, heart pieces are a thing of the past, and weapons now break after just a few hits, much to the chagrin of some players.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
$40 $60 Save $20
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- March 3, 2017
3 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
33.67 Million Sales
The “Ultimate” in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate feels incredibly apt, with the game serving as the quintessential Super Smash Bros. title in just about every measurable way. Its roster features every single playable fighter to have ever featured throughout the series, as well as several new ones just for good measure.
It’s difficult to see how Nintendo could top Super Smash Bros. Ultimate without a rather large shake-up, which seems unlikely given how successful the series has proven to be over the years. It’s no surprise that Ultimate is one of the top-selling Switch games, nor that countless people continue to purchase and play it to this day.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- December 7, 2018
2 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
44.79 Million Sales
Being released at the beginning of a global pandemic which saw millions of people confined to their homes definitely contributed to the high sales of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s still an excellent game though, and fully deserves its place among the best-selling Switch games of all time.
It’s one of the most content-rich Animal Crossing games to date and received excellent post-release support for its first year or two on the market. Granted, it would have been nice if Nintendo had stuck with the game a little longer, but it remains a must-play title for fans of social simulation games nonetheless.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- March 20, 2020
1 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
60.58 Million Sales
That two of the ten best-selling Switch games (three, if one counts Breath of the Wild) are effectively just Wii U games is a testament to how underrated Nintendo’s ill-fated system really was. To be clear, like New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is technically an enhanced port, but the core mechanics remain largely unchanged.
When it comes to the best local co-op and split-screen games, the Mario Kart games have always ranked highly, but New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is arguably the pick of the bunch. It’s chock-full of content, featuring a ridiculous amount of racers, tracks, and tournaments for players to enjoy.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD , Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Released
- April 28, 2017
