Pokémon series tops 515M sales ahead of Switch 2

The Pokémon Company announced today that the Pokémon video game series has sold more than 515 million software units worldwide since its 1996 debut, an increase of 26 million units over the past year. The milestone coincides with the company’s preparations to release two Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive titles, Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, next year.

The company provided the cumulative global sales figure without breaking it down by individual titles or regions. The 26 million-unit increase reflects sales recorded over the last 12 months compared with the prior annual total.

Pokémon began with Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue in 1996 and has since grown into dozens of main-series entries, spin-offs and remakes across multiple Nintendo platforms. The franchise ranks among the best-selling video game series worldwide, trailing Nintendo’s Mario series in total sales.

The company did not provide gameplay details, regional release windows beyond next year, or information on how Winds and Waves will be reflected in future sales reporting.

For historical context, when Pokémon X and Pokémon Y launched worldwide on Oct. 12, 2013, the two titles sold more than 4 million units combined across Japan, Europe and the Americas on launch day. In the U.S., Pokémon X sold about 1.63 million copies compared with roughly 1.54 million for Pokémon Y.