It is that time of year again. The video game industry reflects on the best of the best. Metacritic, known for aggregate game scores, just released their list of the best game publishers for 2024. The surprising winner is SEGA. In Metacritic’s latest rankings, the house of Sonic and Yakuza has soared to the very top.
Explaining Metacritic’s Ranking Methodology
Metacritic's publisher rankings are more than just average scores. They dig deeper. Their system considers the average rating for a publisher’s games, and how the games broke down in terms of quality. This includes how many ‘good’, ‘bad’ and ‘excellent’ games the publisher released that year. It is a more nuanced approach than just looking at averages. This incentivizes publishers for overall consistency and high-quality releases.
Capcom Remains a Strong Contender
Last year's number one, Capcom, had an astonishing 2023. They have dropped to second place. But Capcom remains at the top, showing their strength in the industry. The game publishing landscape is very competitive.
Metacritic’s Top 10 Publishers for 2024
Here are Metacritic’s Top 10 Publishers for 2024, with a standout game from each:
- SEGA – 325.5 (Focus Game: Metaphor: ReFantazio)
- Capcom — 323.1 points (Featured Title: Dragon's Dogma 2 )
- Aksys Games — 318.1 points (Highlight Game: Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II )
- Sony — 314 points (Highlight Game: Astro Bot)
- Focus Entertainment – 309.6 points (Highlight Game: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 )
- Gamera Games – 303.5 points (Highlight Game: Shogun Showdown )
- Square Enix – 303.5 points (Featured Title: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
- Raw Fury — 301.1 points (Featured Game: Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley)
- Microsoft – 301 points (Showcase Game: Pentiment (Nintendo Switch)
- Annapurna Interactive 298.7 (Best Game: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes)
37 Publishers Ranked in Total
Metacritic included a total of 37 unique game publishers in their 2024 ranking. This shows how far-reaching the companies bringing us games are. Fulqrum Publishing is at the bottom with 219.1 points overall (including Forgive Me Father 2). See the full Metacritic list for all rankings. (Link to the actual rankings page here).
Congratulations to SEGA for achieving the top slot. In the competitive world of video games, it is always interesting to see how the rankings turn out each year.
