Scarlet/Violet Sales Surpass All But Original Pokémon Games

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet rank among the top-selling Pokémon games of all time. According to Joe Merrick, the webmaster of Serebii.net, and reported by Eurogamer, these two games have surpassed 25 million copies sold, outpacing every other Pokémon title since the original Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, which sold 31.4 million copies upon its 1996 Game Boy release.

With sales reaching 26,790,000, Scarlet/Violet narrowly edge out Pokémon Sword/Shield, which sold 26,720,000 copies, securing the second spot on the list. The top five best-selling Pokémon games are rounded out by Gold/Silver and Diamond/Pearl, with sales figures of 23.7 million and 16.7 million, respectively.

Despite their commercial success, Scarlet/Violet received mixed reviews upon launch, earning scores that placed them among the least favorably reviewed mainline Pokémon games. Fans noted technical issues, performance problems, and bugs. In our review, IGN's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review gave the game a 6/10, describing it as "Okay" and stating: "The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished."

Looking ahead, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is slated for release later this year, set in Lumiose City amidst an urban redevelopment plan aimed at creating a harmonious space for both humans and Pokémon. Last October, a leak sharing unknown information about numerous Pokémon games, including Legends Z-A, spilled online, prompting Nintendo to subpoena Discord in an effort to identify the user responsible for the "TeraLeak."