Metacritic released its 2026 Game Publisher Rankings, compiling data from all of 2025 to judge which publishers put out the most well-rated games. The headline is straightforward: Square Enix came out on top.

Big surprises and the main takeaway

If you like charts that reveal weird truths, this one delivers. Microsoft climbed the table and left Sony well behind. Microsoft finished in fifth place with 305.7 points, while Sony landed at a disappointing 21st place with 268.5 points. Nintendo sat between them in 12th place with 299.2 points.

How the three giants did

  • Sony: Published 17 products across 13 titles in 2025. Only 53% of those releases earned a ‘good’ rating on Metacritic. Sony’s best-scoring publisher release was The Last of Us Part II Remastered on PC with a Metascore of 90. Overall score: 268.5.
  • Microsoft: A much deeper catalog in 2025 with 43 products across 21 titles. About 81% of those games received a ‘good’ rating. Microsoft scored 305.7 points in total. The top-scoring pick among Microsoft-published releases was Forza Horizon 5 with a Metascore of 92, notable because it also had a PS5 release.
  • Nintendo: Published 19 products across 18 titles and earned a 68% ‘good’ rating. Nintendo’s standout was Tears of the Kingdom on the Switch 2 with a Metascore of 95. Total points: 299.2.

Who else landed where

Square Enix claimed the top spot with a perfect record of 100% good ratings from 19 products across 9 titles. Behind it were other familiar names:

  • Capcom in third place.
  • Take-Two in sixth place.
  • Sega in seventh place.
  • Electronic Arts in eighth place.
  • Ubisoft made eleventh place, helped by titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and an Avatar expansion.
  • Konami landed in fifteenth place.

Bottom of the list

Some smaller or niche publishers filled the lower ranks. The very bottom of the table included Idea Factory in last place, along with Arc System Works, Nacon, and Microids. Companies such as Bandai Namco, Annapurna, and Plaion also ranked below Sony.

Context and a bit of history

Sony has reached the top of this list only once, in 2023. Microsoft has been number one twice since Metacritic began producing these reports, in 2012 and again in 2022. In the previous report Microsoft was ninth, so the jump to fifth in the 2026 rankings is a clear improvement.

If you find this surprising, you are not alone. The rankings show that a larger output and more consistent quality can move a publisher up the list, even against well-known brands. Feel free to share your take on these results with other gamers and friends.