This weekend marks the 20th anniversary Xbox 360, the second iteration of Microsoft’s Xbox consoles. There were a lot of great Xbox 360 games during its run. But looking back, it’s staggering to see how many of the top-selling Xbox 360 games were from the Call of Duty franchise.
Circana’s Mat Piscatella has shared the 20 best-selling Xbox 360 games in the US, and 7 out of the 20 were Call of Duty titles. Six of those games were in the top 10, and four out of the top five as well.
Three Halo games and two Gears of War titles made the list, as did perennial best-sellers Minecraft and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Since the acquisitions of Bethesda, Activision, and Mojang Studios, Microsoft now owns the rights to 17 of the titles on this list.
Outside of Microsoft’s dominion, Rockstar Games had two of the most-acclaimed titles of that generation: Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto 4. Meanwhile, EA’s Battlefield 3 was the publisher’s sole title to make the list.
Peter Moore–the former Microsoft executive who oversaw Xbox and Xbox 360–recently shared some of the history behind the latter’s battle with the PlayStation 3 for the hearts and minds of gamers. The Xbox 360 is one of the biggest hits that Microsoft has ever had in the gaming realm. Although the Xbox 360 store was shut down last year, Microsoft shared an update for the system in June 2025.
The complete list of the top 20 best-selling Xbox 360 games in the US is reproduced below. Most of the titles are still available to play on the Xbox Store.
20. Gears of War 3
Developer: Epic Games
Release Date: September 20, 2011
19. Gears of War
Developer: Epic Games
Release Date: November 7, 2006
18. Red Dead Redemption
Developer: Rockstar Games
Release Date: May 18, 2010
17. Battlefield 3
Developer: DICE
Release Date: October 25, 2011
16. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
Developer: Neversoft
Release Date: October 28, 2007
15. Minecraft
Developer: Mojang Studios
Release Date: November 18, 2011
14. Grand Theft Auto 4
Developer: Rockstar Games
Release Date: December 8, 2008
13. Call of Duty: World at War
Developer: Treyarch
Release Date: November 11, 2008
12. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Release Date: November 11, 2011
11. Rock Band
Developer: Harmonix
Release Date: November 20, 2007
10. Halo 4
Developer: 343 Industries
Release Date: November 6, 2012
9. Call of Duty: Ghosts
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release Date: November 13, 2013
8. Halo: Reach
Developer: Bungie
Release Date: September 14, 2010
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release Date: September 14, 2010
6. Grand Theft Auto 5
Developer: Rockstar Games
Release Date: September 12, 2013
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release Date: November 8, 2009
4. Halo 3
Developer: Bungie
Release Date: September 25, 2007
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Developer: Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games
Release Date: November 8, 2011
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops
Developer: Treyarch
Release Date: November 9, 2010
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Developer: Treyarch
Release Date: November 13, 2012
