No. 1, 1986–1991
The Legend of Zelda
7.3M copies. From 1986 to 1991: 5 years, and one main game that couldn't catch it.
19862024
Zelda · Analysis · 19 games, 1986–2024
Which Zelda sold the most?
Every main Zelda, 1986 to 2024, by lifetime copies sold: how much of the series a few games carry, how console and handheld games compare, and every game that has held the record.
Key findings
22%of every main Zelda sold is Breath of the Wild
10.8M vs 4.5Mcopies, the average console game vs handheld
39%of all copies come from the three games since 2017
01 · Game by game
Breath of the Wild alone is 22% of every main Zelda sold.
The 19 main games have sold 161.1 million copies between them. Breath of the Wild has sold 35.9M, Tears of the Kingdom 22.8M: together 36% of the series. The median game sold 6.8M. Hover or tap a bar for its rank.
Lifetime copies sold, every main game
Millions, in release order · remakes included
02 · Console and handheld
A console Zelda sells 2.4 times what a handheld one does.
The 12 console games average 10.8M, the 7 handheld games 4.5M. Leave out Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and the console average is still 7.1M. The best-selling handheld game, Link's Awakening, is No. 4 overall.
The same games, best seller first
Millions · dashed lines: the average console and handheld game
03 · Record holders
Only five games have ever been the best-selling Zelda.
Counting each game's lifetime sales, each of these outsold every main game before it. Ocarina of Time held on longest: 19 years, while 11 more main games came out. The dots are the main games in release order; filled ones are the record holder and the games released while it held the record.
No. 1, 1991–1993
A Link to the Past
7.4M copies. From 1991 to 1993: 2 years, with no other main game in between.
19862024
No. 1, 1993–1998
Link's Awakening
12.7M copies. From 1993 to 1998: 5 years, with no other main game in between.
19862024
No. 1, 1998–2017
Ocarina of Time
14.6M copies. From 1998 to 2017: 19 years, and 11 main games that couldn't catch it.
19862024
No. 1 since 2017
Breath of the Wild
35.9M copies. Still No. 1, through the two main games since.
19862024
About this data
Download CSV ↓The 19 main games are the series' mainline releases, with the two Oracle games counted as one. Copies are lifetime sales with remakes and re-releases folded into the original. The NES Classic and SNES Classic consoles that come with some games built in are consoles, not copies, so they're left out. A game is console or handheld by the system it first came out on, and Switch games count as console games.
Source: VGSales Wiki (from Nintendo's investor reports, Famitsu, and VGChartz estimates). Data as of October 13, 2026.
Newsletter
New charts every week, in your inbox.
The newest chart and what we found in it, once a week. Unsubscribe anytime.