Square Enix Top Publisher of 2025

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According to Metacritic’s ranking system, Square Enix was the top game publisher of 2025. This achievement marks the first time in the 16-year history of Metacritic’s Annual Game Publisher Rankings that Square Enix has taken the number one spot. Metacritic determines its annual rankings using four factors: the average Metascore for all games released that year, the percentage of “good” reviews (Metascore of 75 or higher), the percentage of “bad” reviews (49 or lower), and the number of “great” titles (90 or higher with seven or more reviews). To be included, publishers must have released at least five unique titles during the year. In 2025, Square Enix released nine games, all of which garnered positive reviews, resulting in an impressive average score of 84. Standout titles included Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for PC (scoring 90), Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, and Octopath Traveler 0. Even SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, considered their lowest-rated release of the year, still earned critical praise. The top 10 publishers of 2025, according to Metacritic, were: 1. Square Enix – Points: 34, Average Metascore: 83 2. Nintendo – Points: 33, Average Metascore: 82

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3. Activision Blizzard – Points: 32, Average Metascore: 79 4. EA Sports – Points: 28, Average Metascore: 77 5. Sega – Points: 26, Average Metascore: 76 6. Ubisoft – Points: 25, Average Metascore: 76 7. Capcom – Points: 24, Average Metascore: 75 8. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – Points: 23, Average Metascore: 74 9. Bandai Namco Entertainment – Points: 19, Average Metascore: 72 10. Take-Two Interactive Software – Points: 16, Average Metascore: 71 Notably, several other publishers also made significant strides in the rankings. Gamirror Games, a Chinese indie publisher known for co-publishing successful indie titles, secured second place with their most successful release of 2025, Absolum. Meanwhile, Capcom, who ranked seventh overall, saw their Resident Evil Requiem earn an average critic score of 83 across seven game releases that year. Capcom’s lineup for the following year included Monster Hunter Wilds and Nintendo Switch 2 ports of Street Fighter 6 and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, contributing to a five-point increase in their average Metascore compared to the previous year. Also of note, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is now playable on Steam Deck, and Sega experienced a drop to seventh place in the Metacritic rankings.

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