Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have quickly risen to become two of the best-selling titles in the Pokémon franchise’s storied history. According to data shared by Joe Merrick, the webmaster of Serebii.net, and later highlighted by Eurogamer, the two games have collectively sold over 26.79 million copies worldwide. This impressive figure places them just ahead of Pokémon Sword and Shield, which together have sold 26.72 million units. For context, the original Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue games—which were released in 1996 on the Game Boy—sold a total of 31.4 million copies over the years.
Rounding out the top five in terms of sales are Pokémon Gold and Silver with 23.7 million copies sold, followed by Diamond and Pearl at 16.7 million units sold.
Despite its commercial success, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet received a somewhat lukewarm reception upon launch. The game was met with mostly mixed reviews, making it one of the lower-rated mainline Pokémon titles in the series. Players and critics alike pointed to technical issues, performance inconsistencies, and numerous bugs that impacted the overall experience. At IGN, we gave the game a 6/10, noting in our IGN's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review that while the open-world format was a bold and promising direction for the franchise, it was ultimately hindered by a lack of polish and a feeling of incompleteness.
Looking ahead, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which is set to launch later this year. The game takes place in the bustling metropolis of Lumiose City, where an ambitious urban redevelopment plan aims to create a shared space for both humans and Pokémon to thrive together.
In related news, last October saw the emergence of a major leak—nicknamed the “TeraLeak”—which revealed unknown details about several upcoming Pokémon titles, including Legends: Z-A. In response, Nintendo has since issued a subpoena to Discord in an effort to identify the individual responsible for the leak.
