The 'FIFA' games have been officially announced as the most successful franchise in UK history.

Charts specialist GfK has announced the 30-biggest selling franchises since they started tracking sales in 1995, and to little surprise, 'FIFA' has come out on top.

The footballing franchise has released 50 games since its inception in 1993, and the games are consistent best-sellers.

Other sporting titles from the world of WWE, the Olympics, Formula One, and Golf make an appearance in the top 30.

The 'Call Of Duty' franchise has claimed the second spot, which is impressive considering the franchise didn't debut until 2003.

Mario claimed the 3rd spot, 'Grand Theft Auto' hijacked its way to 4th place and the various Lego games rounded up the top 5.

The success of 'Grand Theft Auto 5' is particularly notable, with that one game alone responsible for 40% of the franchises sales in the UK.

"This is a fascinating list and anyone who has been following the development of the video game industry as I have will no doubt show little surprise at the sheer value, size, and breadth of this market," said Dorian Bloch, GfK's senior client insight director for Gaming.

"What was once seen as a niche sector is now an unquestionably mainstream market generating billions in revenue annually," he added.

Bloch added "the characters in these games have become much-loved heroes, from Lara Croft to Luigi and Mario, to Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Terms used in the franchises have entered our vocabulary, and there are more than a few gamers who could navigate their way around the outskirts of San Francisco from their time at the wheel of a stolen car in GTA."

The full list of games

It should be noted that the list accounts for boxed sales and not digital sales, where the true revenue and sales figures are likely much higher.

'Pro Evolution Soccer' is the closest rival to 'FIFA' and managed to place in the top 20, outselling major titles such as 'Halo' and 'Battlefield'.

'Skylanders' is the newest franchise on the list, with the game briefly becoming a sensation in the mid-2010s before collapsing spectacularly due to oversaturation.

The 'Guitar Hero' series of games also feature, and their appearance on the list is notable as the final entry in the franchise was in 2015.

Between 2006 and 2010 the franchise was among the hottest in gaming, before the economic recession of the late 2000's curtailed consumer spending and the oversaturation of games in the franchise turned off players.

The top-30 biggest selling franchises have produced revenue of over €15 billion since sales began to be tracked in 1995.

GfK Chart-Track tracks game sales in Ireland, the UK and Denmark and compiled the data.