Top 10 Highest-Selling Video Games in 2013

The NPD Group has revealed the top-selling video games of 2013, and the list has a few surprises. The NPD Group does not factor in sales of games bundled with consoles, but does include other bundles and game of the year editions of games. 

According to IGN, Grand Theft Auto 5 claimed the top spot for 2013, which is not much of a surprise considering the game sold a record-breaking amount of copies at launch and is expected to pass the lifetime sales of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Call of Duty: Ghosts came in at No. 2 on the list, followed by another hugely popular franchise, Madden NFL 25. At launch, Call of Duty: Ghosts was one of the top-selling games in the franchise's history, so it makes sense that the game would be the second place game on the list. Madden NFL 25 is the latest entry to the football simulator game, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013, so while the game may have been somewhat lackluster, fans were quick to pick up the game on both the PlayStation 3/ Xbox 360 generation of consoles and their next-gen replacements.

Battlefield 4 is, appropriately enough, the fourth best-selling game of the year, despite its huge amount of bugs and glitches that have plagued the game across all platforms. Coming at fifth on the list was Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. The excellent Ubisoft game was a popular next-gen launch title, helping the game make the list.

Another game that made the list despite frequent technical problems was NBA 2K14, coming in at No. 6. The inclusion of Battlefield 4 and NBA 2K14 shows that a popular franchise and strong launch numbers may overcome negative press concerning technical problems in a game.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 are some surprising entries. The No. 7 slot went to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2; Just Dance 2014 came in at No. 8; Minecraft took home ninth place; and Disney Infinity came in 10th. These may not be the first games that gamers think about when forming a top 10 best-selling video game list, but these titles have managed to beat out other popular franchises and be some of the most successful games of 2013.

For the full list of facts and figures released by NPD, head over to IGN.