Developers have been producing horror games for over 40 years! Beginning with the release of 1982’s Haunted House, the horror genre has flourished in the video game industry. Now, some of these games have blossomed into huge, multi-million dollar franchises. This article takes a look at the top 10 best selling horror game franchises of all time. Sneak peek, there’s a lot of zombie games!
Disclaimer: Video game developers and publishers often keep their exact sales numbers close to their chest. This means that some of these numbers are estimates, and others might be outdated. Since this list is just for fun anyways, try not to get bogged down in the exact numbers.
10: Dead Rising: 15 Million
Whilst Dead Rising might not fit the conventional mould of what defines a ‘horror’ game, it is undoubtedly one of the most iconic franchises in the genre. This delightful zombie-killing simulator spans 4 main instalments in a variety of environments. There’s a shopping mall, a casino mall, California, and yes, another shopping mall!
Dead Rising prides itself on its light-hearted tone and story. It mixes absurd NPC encounters, funny dialogue and goofy weapon combinations. Estimates from 2022 point at the Dead Rising franchise having sold over 15 million copies. Only time will tell if another entry in the series will release: leaks point towards Dead Rising 5 being cancelled during production.
9: Outlast: 16 Million
Next up is one of the most iconic horror franchises of the 2010s: Outlast. The game contains a chilling asylum setting, expertly crafted tension, and the absence of the means to defend yourself. With all these elements, Outlast solidified its place as one of the scariest horror games ever released, according to fans.
The second game shifted the setting to a remote village occupied by a religious cult. Whilst not reaching the peaks of the original, it successfully retained the found-footage mechanics and still is pretty darn scary.
2018 sales figures point at the Outlast franchise selling over 15 million units, but that number will be far higher by now. The franchise shows no signs of slowing down, as the 2023 multiplayer spin-off The Outlast Trails has already sold over 1 million copies in early access!
8: 7 Days To Die: 16 Million
So I know that the article is about the top selling ‘franchises’, but 7 Days To Die has outsold some of the most famous horror game franchises just by itself. For me, that makes it worthy for this list. 7 Days To Die is a sandbox survival horror crafting game. Players can build their own forts, craft weapons and vehicles, and of course fight against zombies.
The developers have confirmed that 7 Days To Die has surpassed 16 million sales.
7: Dead Island: 16 Million
Dead Island is known for its first-person melee combat, bright visuals, and gory zombie dismemberment.
The original game was remarkably successful, explaining why the publishers stuck with the sequel through its almost decade-long development period. That’s right, Dead Island 2 was originally announced in 2014, but was passed through 3 different developers during that time. It finally released in 2023, and the investment paid off.
The sequel has already sold over 2 million units by the time of writing, and critics praised its fun and over-the-top gameplay. This takes the total estimate for the series to around 16 million sales.
6: Castlevania: 20 Million
The oldest franchise on this list is Castlevania, with the original releasing in 1986! The series began as a two-dimensional gothic horror, but the latest entries have dabbled in three-dimensional gameplay. Along with Nintendo’s Metroid, Castlevania pioneered the ‘Metroidvania’ gameplay style. This gameplay is marked by non-linear level design and finding power-ups or items that allow you to reach previously inaccessible parts of the map.
The 26 main Castlevania games have earned a Netflix animated series, comic adaptations, and over 20 million sales. The last Castlevania game released in 2014, but there are rumours floating around about the imminent announcement of a new entry.
5: Dying Light: 30 Million
I knew Dying Light sold well, but I frankly did not expect the franchise to be this high up! In fact, the first game is one of the best-selling horror games of all time, surpassing 20 million sales. Dying Light offers unique Mirror’s Edge-style parkour and fluid combat. My favourite addition was the dynamic day-night cycle: zombies in the day are a walk in the park, but at night, they are terrifyingly aggressive.
The second game released in 2022, keeping a lot of the original mechanics and stuffing the game with a bunch of things to do – with some arguing that there was too much. The franchise’s total estimate lie around 30 million sales – very impressive for just a series of 2 games!
4: The Last Of Us: 37 Million
The brutal and dark world of The Last Of Us instantly hooked millions of players who wanted to experience this post-apocalyptic zombie game. The deeply emotional relationship between the main protagonists Joel and Ellie attracted many fans to the series. The Last of Us ranks in the top 20 best selling games of the 2010s, which is especially impressive for a game exclusively available on one platform.
Whilst the second game did end up taking a bold – and certainly controversial – story direction, it did still manage to draw in a gargantuan 10 million sales (as of Spring 2022). This takes the franchise total past 37 million, and the multiplayer spin-off will certainly boost these numbers when it releases. The popularity of the game series even sparked a fantastic TV adaptation, which was undeniably a huge success.
3: The Walking Dead: 50 Million
The narrative series The Walking Dead was the breakout game for developer Telltale Games. Harnessing the popularity of the hit TV show, this 4-season-long episodic series became iconic for the relationship between the protagonist Lee Everitt and Clementine. Lee ends up caring for Clementine following the initial outbreak, and their bond grows throughout the series.
The series is dark and unforgiving, and is excellent at creating a deeply emotional attachment to the characters. This makes it tough for the players when their dialogue choices and actions affect the story including the fates of the beloved characters.
Telltale has confirmed that they have sold 50 million episodes of the series. Of course, the episodic structure might fudge the sales numbers a bit, since a player buying the complete story would count as 4 sales.
2: Dead by Daylight: 50 Million
Whilst technically not a franchise yet, the developers did recently announce that the series would expand to 2 new games and a movie. Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer game. 4 survivors are trying to escape a trial and their objective is to complete all 5 generators. However, a player-controlled killer is hunting them down, trying to sacrifice them to the Entity.
One of the main pulls of Dead by Daylight is its unique chase mechanics – it is frankly unlike any other multiplayer game around. Another draw is the massive roster of survivors and killers, which consists of some of horror’s most iconic characters, such as Halloween’s Michael Myers and Scream’s Ghostface. Even the number one franchise on this list could not resist putting 6 of their characters into Dead by Daylight.
Whilst the sales have not been confirmed, Dead by Daylight did reach a confirmed 50 million players in 2021. Since players have to pay to play the game, there is a fairly reliable estimate of the game’s sales.
1: Resident Evil: 142 Million
And finally, we arrive at the unrivalled juggernaut of the horror game genre: Resident Evil. With a remarkable 142 million sales, it stands dominant as the most popular horror franchise of all time. Whilst yes, there are 28 Resident Evil games, you cannot take away how huge Resident Evil is to the horror genre. The franchise boasts an iconic roster of heroes and villains, many of whom appear in multiple entries in the series.
Few horror games have as much of a market impact as much as Resident Evil does. Even the remakes are amongst the best selling games of the year when they release.
I do want to point out some surprising absences from the list. I was certain that Five Nights at Freddy’s would have sold more, but it is practically impossible to find any sales information about that series. Dead Space and Silent Hill both narrowly missed a place on this list as well.
It’s also interesting to see that 7 of the 10 top selling franchises are zombie games. Perhaps these games are more accessible to the average player who might be a bit too scared for a true horror like Outlast.