Although a relatively recent innovation, the video game collectibles market is booming, and some ultra-rare examples fetch thousands, and sometimes upwards of a million, dollars. 

From early classics to mega-desirable rarities, click or scroll on to discover 25 old video games that are now worth a fortune.

Many of the highest prices are for US versions of the games. All dollar values in US dollars with figures adjusted for inflation.

Copies of this farm-based simulation game, which features Japanese anime-esque graphics, are reasonably thin on the ground these days and highly desirable among collectors, who will pay up to $370 for a complete copy.

This quirky Japanese action-adventure Nintendo GameCube game, which features bizarre geometric characters, is coveted by gamers despite its fairly simple graphics and gameplay. Today, copies in good condition can fetch up to $450.

Not for the faint-hearted, Haunting Ground is a survival horror title that follows a young woman who wakes up in a creepy dungeon after a car accident. Copies are few and far between – the game didn't sell well – and complete copies in good condition can be listed for up to $700 each.

One of the rarest Xbox games, Steel Battalion is a collector's favorite. The original release was restricted to just 2,000 copies and came with a gigantic controller with two joysticks with copious buttons, switches, and levers. If you're fortunate enough to own one, you'll be pleased to know a complete set could be worth up to $775.

The rarest and most technically unique Atari 5200 game, Bounty Bob Strikes Back! is the sequel to the classic Miner 2049er (pictured) and is notable for boasting 25 levels, which was a big deal back in 1984. Collectors have been known to part with up to $900 to acquire a copy of the game.

The original discontinued disc version of the immensely popular Fortnite game is like gold dust these days. The free Battle Royale online version has sparked a global craze and garnered millions of fans worldwide, which explains why hardcore gamers have been known to pay up to $1,000 for the 2017 standard edition on disc if sealed and unused.

Ninja Five-O was released in 2003 to critical acclaim, but the action platform title failed to fly off the shelves. Due to the game's poor commercial performance, relatively few units were manufactured, which explains the high prices copies attract today. Used examples can go for up to $350, but pristine copies can sell for up to $1,300.

Hard to come by, Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire was only available via the New York Pokémon Center and its online store. In Europe, gamers could only get a copy through Nintendo's loyalty program or by snapping up the Pokémon Colosseum Mega Pack. Nowadays, a used copy sells for up to $1,600, while factory-sealed specimens are worth up to $2,500.

The most sought-after Game Boy Color game, Shantae tanked following its release in 2002. However, a fairly respectable 25,000 units of the game were shifted, so there's a chance you might own one. If you do have a copy floating about somewhere, and it happens to be in box-fresh condition, you could sell it for up to $2,850. Loose cartridges alone can sell for up to $900.

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Rare but not extremely scarce, Little Samson is one NES game you may have gathering dust in your collection. The action platform game had very little promotion attached to it and sold poorly, particularly in North America, hence its high value today. Collectors are likely to spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on a copy, depending on its condition.

Amazing Tater is a kooky puzzle game that was released for the original Game Boy in 1992. Atlus produced the title in limited quantities, and these days, copies are worth huge amounts of money. Loose cartridges on their own can fetch up to $700, while mint-condition specimens have gone for up to $10,000.

The rarest Neo Geo AES titles are renowned for achieving absurdly high prices at auction. Take Neo Turf Masters. The arcade-style golf game, which was released in 1996, is a must for the most serious (rich) collectors. They're more than happy to hand over as much as $13,750 for a copy.

The tile-matching puzzle game that conquered the world, Tetris was never actually released on the Sega Mega Drive platform. Copyright issues with Sony thwarted its launch, but not before a bunch of copies were produced. Only 10 are thought to exist today, with each of them worth up to $30,000. A copy signed by Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov was famously listed on eBay for $1 million in 2011. It ended up selling for around $15,000, the equivalent of $22,000 in today's money.

A near-mythical game among collectors, Air Raid had a super-limited distribution, and only 12 copies of the shoot 'em up are thought to exist today. Out of those 12, just three complete games have survived. The most valuable sold for just under $33,500 in 2012, the equivalent of around $49,200 in today's money.

An exceedingly rare NES game, sports fitness title Stadium Events was rebranded in North America as World Class Track Meet shortly after its release in 1987. An unknown number of copies slipped through the net, but experts believe a maximum of only 20 remain. These specimens are now worth big bucks, with one selling for $41,300 in 2010. That's around $63,800 in today's money.

Tetris was a launch title for the Nintendo Game Boy system and was included with the console, so not many people needed to buy a copy of the game when it was released three years after the console. Therefore, it's considered extremely rare, and a copy of Tetris sold at Heritage Auctions for $78,000 (around $97k today) in July 2021.

The high price was due to its sealed, pristine condition (rated a fairly high 9.6 A by video game collecting firm Wata), with other, less well-preserved copies of the game in the auction selling for up to $5,000, or around $6,200 in today's money.

This particular example of the Pokémon Red game for Game Boy sold for a record $84,000 in November 2020, four times its pre-sale estimate. That's the equivalent of around $109,350 in today's money. The sealed copy had a Wata 9.8 A++ rating, meaning it was "like new," but its top sale price is also down to the fact that this title is hard to come by in the US. 

In 2021, a sealed copy of Contra that Heritage Auctions described as the most "immaculate example of this game" sold for $150,000, the equivalent of around $186,500 in today's money. The game was given a 9.8A+ rating by video game collecting firm Wata.

However, not all copies of the game sell for this much, and several less perfect but complete copies have fetched up to $250 in online sales.

A pristine copy of Final Fantasy VII for PlayStation 1 sold for $185,300 at auction in 2026. The copy attracted such a high sale price due to being the world's highest-graded "Realistic Violence" first-print copy.

The game shifted millions of copies when it was first released, so it doesn't typically sell for much. Recently, used complete copies have been fetching around $50 each.

As we'll see, old copies of Super Mario games can be worth a fortune if they've been kept as new in their original packaging. In 2020, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. 3, described as being in “remarkable” condition, swept in and took the title of the priciest game ever sold. It started with an opening bid of $62,500 but eventually sold for $156,000 that November through Heritage Auctions. That's the equivalent of around $203,100 in today's money.

Nintendo Power Magazine held the Nintendo World Championship competition in America back in 1990. The prizewinners, who numbered just 26, each received a shiny gold cartridge. The holy grail of NES games, these ultra-scarce cartridges command crazy prices – a copy sold for just shy of $100,000 on eBay in 2014, which would be worth around $142,300 today. In 2024, another went up for auction and fetched $207,400, or $222,800 when adjusted for inflation.

The highest-graded copy of boxer Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! ever sold by Heritage Auctions fetched a staggering $312,000 in 2021, around $388,000 in today's money. The game was the first by Nintendo to be endorsed by a celebrity, and subsequent editions featured Mr. Dream rather than the then-world heavyweight champion.

A copy of The Legend of Zelda briefly became the most expensive video game ever on 9 July 2021 when it sold for a sensational $870,000 through Heritage Auctions. In today's money, that's the equivalent of around $1.1 million. The sealed game was one of a limited number of copies released in an early production run that lasted for a few months in 1987, but it didn't hold the title for long...

Two days later, an unopened copy of Super Mario 64 beat the record for the sale of a video game at auction, selling on 11 July 2021 for $1.56 million, the equivalent of around $1.9 million today. The video game had been given a 9.8 A++ rating by video game collecting firm Wata, meaning it was "like new" and in near-perfect condition. Another copy of Super Mario 64 with a slightly lower rating of 9.6 A++ sold at the same auction for $13,200, or around $16,400 today.

However, the record was about to fall again...

The following month, the New York Times reported that a copy of Super Mario Bros. sealed in its original packaging sold for a staggering $2 million, the equivalent of $2.5 million today. The never-opened game was sold by the investment site Rally, which allows investors to buy shares in collectibles, including rare comic books and video games. 

The record stood until 2026, when a graded 9.6 A++ copy of the same game was sold by Heritage Auctions for $3 million. Remarkably, the specially-sealed game had sat inside an unopened console bundle for four decades.

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Now discover the old computers and games consoles worth a fortune today