The Most Traded-In Games of 2023

As 2023 comes to an end, it’s always a great time to look back on the year and see what games were the most popular. It’s not been long since the 2023 Gaming Awards and we got to see what games took the top spot all around the world. With so many new games being released, it’s always a good idea to declutter your home and sell your old games to make space for new adventures. It’s interesting to see what games you guys had enough of in 2023, so we’ve created a yearly round-up of the top 10 most traded-in games of the year!

10. Just Dance 4 (Wii)

Just Dance 4 is a 2012 music rhythm game and starts off our list of most traded video games of 2023. The Just Dance series judges players on their ability to mimic on-screen dancers performing a routine to a chosen song. Up to 4 players can get involved and this release introduced dance battle routines, unlockable alternative routines for songs, and a “Puppet Master” mode for the Wii U GamePad to serve as a “Master” to manipulate the routine and visuals. The game features 50 songs from artists all over the world, including songs from Rihanna, Maroon 5, Skrillex, and Stevie Wonder. It’s a great soundtrack to listen to if you want some 2012 nostalgia.

9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Xbox 360)

Coming in strong at number 9 is Call of Duty: Black Ops for the Xbox 360. It was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision in 2010 for release on the Xbox 360. If you’re not familiar with the Call of Duty franchise, the games are a series of first-person shooters that take place in warzones and conflicts all over the world. Call of Duty: Black Ops is set in the 1960s during the Cold War, the single-player campaign follows CIA operative Alex Mason as he attempts to recall memories to locate a numbers station that is set to instruct Soviet sleeper agents to deploy chemical weapons across the United States. The game features music from the Rolling Stones, Eminem, and an original song by Avenged Sevenfold. Within its first 24 hours of sales, the game sold more than 5.6 million copies and received generally positive reviews from critics with praise for its story, voice-acting, darker tone, and multiplayer modes. Since it’s been around for almost 14 years now, we’re not surprised it’s in our top ten.

8. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)

Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010 as an action-adventure game developed by Rockstar, the same developers that brought us the Grand Theft Auto series. This game followed on from the 2004 release Red Dead Revolver which tends to get left out when discussing the franchise. This game is also set after the events of Red Dead Redemption 2 and follows John Marston, a former outlaw, who sets out to bring three of his former gang members to justice after his wife and son are taken hostage by the government in ransom for his services as a hired gun. It's a wonderful open-world experience and on its release was one of the most expensive video games ever made. Several DLCs also followed this game including Undead Nightmare in which John Marston searches for a cure for an infectious zombie plague.

7. FIFA 21

With a new release every year, it’s no surprise that FIFA 21 features on our list. Published by Electronic Arts, this is the 28th instalment of the FIFA series and was released in 2020. It’s a football simulation game in which you get to play as your favourite team and challenge other players. Ultimate Team features 100 icon players and this version included 11 new names including Eric Cantona, Ashley Coal, and Fernando Torres. This instalment also introduced new features to Career Mode where a new and improved training system allowed players to play in different positions, gave more transfer options, and enhanced opposition AI.

6. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)

Almost 20 years (yes… 20 years!) after its launch, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is still being re-sold enough to place sixth on our list. Like the other GTA games, this instalment is set within an open-world environment that players can explore at their own leisure. The plot itself is based on several real-life events in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, including street gang rivalry, riots, and LAPD scandals. San Andreas introduced a lot of gameplay that was incorporated in later games, including role-playing, customisation options with clothing and vehicles, and a vast array of minigames and activities. If you’re looking for a game that offers both bank heists and tennis matches, you might not want to trade this one in any time soon.

5. Call of Duty: WWII (PS4)

Call of Duty: WWII is a 2017 first-person shooter game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. It was the fourteenth main instalment in the Call of Duty series and the first title in the series to be set primarily during World War II since Call of Duty: World at War in 2008. Upon its release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics, mainly due to its story, realism, multiplayer modes, and visuals. Perhaps it makes our list because they removed the double jump?

4. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)

A lot of people will be used to New Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo DS but the Wii edition makes it our fourth most traded-in game of the year. This edition gave players the option to feature in the game cooperatively, taking control of Mario as well as Luigi and two multicoloured toads to navigate through the eight worlds on a quest to find Princess Peach. Mario is a classic game, but Nintendo has been upping their game releases recently, and when it comes to the Mario series, there are so many other adventures to enjoy that New Super Mario Bros. just doesn’t satisfy the Nintendo fans like it used to.

3. Sports Resort (Wii)

At the end of 2021, Wii Sports Resort was the third best-selling game on the Wii, so it doesn’t surprise us that there are so many copies to sell. This game allows you to play 12 classic sports including wakeboarding, frisbee, canoeing, and swordplay. Some of the sports are one player and some have a different version of the sport that is two-player. There’s a lot of nostalgia to be experienced in Sports Resort and it’s one game that can get the whole family involved without having to chore through an instruction manual. Perhaps the release of Nintendo Switch Sports had something to do with the trades this year or maybe we’re moving past the Wii era once and for all.

2. MarioKart (Wii)

MarioKart is one of the best-selling video games of all time so it’s no surprise that it features on our most traded-in games of 2023. Playing as the classic Mario characters we all know and love, you get to battle it out on 32 different racetracks to become the ultimate MarioKart champion. Each copy of the game was bundled with the Wii Wheel accessory to augment the driving feature and mimic a steering wheel for a fully immersive racing experience.

1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360 & PS4)

We’ve all been waiting for GTA VI for so long that we think you’ve all had enough of playing Grand Theft Auto V and that’s how it became our most traded-in game of 2023! GTA V needs no introduction, but for those who might have missed the hype, it’s an action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar in 2013. It’s officially been a decade since its release and the game is quite possibly one of the most recognisable games in video game history. You get to freely roam San Andreas’ open-world countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles. Perhaps it was the announcement of GTA VI that finally got a lot of you to say goodbye to your old copy, but as it’s one of the best-selling games of all time, we’re not surprised it makes the declutter list so often.