Square Enix is the best video game publisher of 2025 according to Metacritic

Metacritic has released its annual list of the best game publishers of 2025, with Microsoft and Ubisoft beating out Nintendo.

2025 was the year where indie developers reigned supreme, with the likes of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight: Silksong sweeping end of year lists and awards.

By comparison, it didn’t feel like a banner year for traditional games companies, although the annual Metacritic list of the most successful publishers offers a different perspective – one where success is defined solely by critic ratings.

Sega topped last year’s list, largely thanks to Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio, but this year’s winner is also one you wouldn’t expect.

For the first time ever, Square Enix has topped Metacritic’s game publisher rankings with a score of 330.5 points. This score is based on four factors: the average Metascore for all its games released in 2025, the percentage of scored games with good reviews (75 and up), the percentage with bad reviews (below 49), and the number of titles with a 90 rating or higher.

Square Enix’s triumph is based on nine games (including ports) which came out in 2025, with all of them being classified as ‘good’. The only one which fell into the 90 or higher category is the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but as none of its other titles fell into the arena of ‘bad’, it appears to have won based on its consistency.

Some of its biggest titles for the year were Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake and Octopath Traveler 0. There was also Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster for the Switch 2 and Final Fantasy 16 on the Xbox Series X/S.

In other words, every single game was either a remake or a port (even Octopath Traveler 0 was adapted from a mobile app), which hardly seems to justify ranking the publisher as the best of the year, but according to the Metacritic’s metrics that’s what it was.

Equally surprising is the publisher ranked in second place. Gamirror Games, a Chinese indie company credited as a co-publisher on Absolum, took the runner-up spot with 322.4 points.

In 2025, all of its five published titles were positively reviewed, although we’d be lying if we said we’d ever heard of Illusion Box, Karma: The Dark World, or Kingdom Of Cards before.

Just behind was Capcom with 322.2 points, who perhaps would have taken second place if it wasn’t for the PC version of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, which fell below the ‘good’ threshold with a 70 rating. Otherwise, it had a strong year, between Monster Hunter Wilds, ports of Street Fighter 6 on Switch 2, and Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on Xbox.

Most would agree Capcom has been on a roll for the last few years, but things get weirder as you glance further down the list. Microsoft climbed the ranks to number five, largely thanks to PlayStation 5 ports of Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones And The Great Circle.

Meanwhile, last year’s winner Sega tumbled down to seventh, with misfires like Football Manager 26 bringing down critical hits like Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance.

Despite launching the Switch 2 last year, Nintendo only ranked at 12th, with disasters like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and Drag x Drive dragging down Donkey Kong Bananza and the Switch 2 editions for Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom. Despite that, Nintendo is the only publisher on the list to have more than one title with a 90 rating or higher.

One of the most dramatic falls compared to last year was Sony, who went from fourth to 21st with 268.5 points. Despite the likes of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and Ghost of Yōtei, its line-up was marred by third party title Lost Soul Aside and DLC for Destiny 2.

The lowest on the list is Arc System Works at 27th, thanks to the middling Double Dragon Revive and fighting game Hunter x Hunter: Nen X Impact. Which is very unflattering for what is generally regarded as very talented developer, especially with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls coming out this year.

Square Enix has a solid shot at ranking high on 2026’s list too, with games like Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on Switch 2, The Adventures Of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, and Life Is Strange: Reunion out this year.

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