Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
Metacritic has today released its annual Game Publisher Rankings, which covers the biggest video game publishers of 2025 and ranks them based on the overall quality of their release slate, according to critic reviews.
Out of 28 publishers eligible (they needed to have at least five games released in 2025), Nintendo sits pretty in 12th place — a vast improvement over its 2024 placement, where it achieved its lowest-ever ranking, placing 22nd.
Taking the top spot for the very first time is Square Enix, who had a pretty excellent 2025. Its best-reviewed game was the PC port of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (which is coming to Switch 2 later this year), but it’s the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, and Octopath Traveler 0 that spring to mind for us. None of their releases got below a Green score, which is impressive.
Last year’s number one, Sega, slipped down to seventh, while Capcom once again made the top three, and Microsoft, Take-Two, and Dotemu also all made the top ten.
Putting the spotlight back on Nintendo, its average score is only a point higher than last year’s at 77, but it released more games in 2025 (18 as opposed to 13) including Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Mario Kart World, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and a brand-spanking-new console. It’s also the only publisher to have more than one game that scored 90 or above. Thanks to Donkey Kong Bananza and two Nintendo Switch 2 Editions in Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom for being excellent.
Unfortunately, its overall average was dragged down a fair bit by two Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives: Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and Drag x Drive. Mobile games aren’t included, meaning Nintendo avoided being dragged down more by Fire Emblem Shadows, one of 2025’s worst-reviewed games.
Anyway, enough about the Big N; here’s the full ranking of Metacritic’s 16th Game Publisher Rankings. For a breakdown on scores, games, and facts, check out Metacritic for all the juicy details:
Ranking
Publisher
28
Idea Factory
27
Arc System Works
26
Nacon/Daedalic
25
Microids
24
Bandai Namco
23
Annapurna Interactive
22
Plaion
21
Sony
20
Atari
19
PQube
18
Clear River Games
17
Marvelous/XSEED
16
DONTNOD Entertainment
15
Konami
14
Devolver Digital
13
Koei Tecmo
12
Nintendo
11
Ubisoft
10
Raw Fury
9
Dotemu
8
Electronic Arts
7
Sega
6
Take-Two Interactive
5
Microsoft
4
Thunderful
3
Capcom
2
Gamirror Games
1
Square Enix
What do you think of 2025’s rankings? Let us know in the comments.