For the primary time in 16 years of Metacritic’s annual publisher rankings, Square Enix has claimed the highest spot. The Japanese publisher achieved an ideal one hundred pc positive review rate across all 19 scored products in 2025, with a median Metascore of 84. Not a single Square Enix release last 12 months landed below the green threshold, making it certainly one of just two publishers to attain that feat. One of the best-reviewed Square Enix game of 2025 was the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, currently the very best game I’ve ever played, which hit a Metascore of 90. Quite a lot of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest titles rounded out a consistently strong slate.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for an organization that has faced its share of criticism over the past several years. Square Enix has been vocal about restructuring its approach to game development, and the 2025 results suggest those efforts are paying off. The publisher is already off to a powerful start in 2026 as well, which implies a repeat performance isn’t out of the query.
Capcom narrowly missed repeating at number two, landing at number three with a 93 percent positive rate and Monster Hunter Wilds leading its lineup. Microsoft got here in at number five, though its two highest-scoring games were paradoxically PlayStation ports of Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Nintendo jumped 10 spots to number 12, boosted by three games scoring 90 or higher, all of which were Zelda and Donkey Kong titles for the Switch 2. Sony dropped from number 4 to number 21, with Death Stranding 2 just missing the 90 mark and a number of other other releases underperforming with critics.
Here’s the complete rating from worst to best:
- 28. Idea Factory (188.6 points) — Best game: Battlefield Waltz (77)
- 27. Arc System Works (213.7) — Best game: Guilty Gear -Strive- Switch Edition (83)
- 26. Nacon/Daedalic (219.8) — Best game: Hell is Us (78)
- 25. Microids (240.9) — Best game: Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (82)
- 24. Bandai Namco (250.2) — Best game: Elden Ring Nightreign (84)
- 23. Annapurna Interactive (258.8) — Best game: LEGO Voyagers (83)
- 22. Plaion (260.9) — Best game: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (89)
- 21. Sony (268.5) — Best game: The Last of Us Part II Remastered PC (90)
- 20. Atari (268.8) — Best game: Atari 50 Namco Legendary Pack (84)
- 19. PQube (271.6) — Best game: Iwakura Aria (83)
- 18. Clear River Games (273.7) — Best game: Operation Night Strikers (83)
- 17. Marvelous/XSEED (279.1) — Best game: The Hundred Line (85)
- 16. DONTNOD Entertainment (283.3) — Best game: Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 (84)
- 15. Konami (284.2) — Best game: Gradius Origins (86)
- 14. Devolver Digital (288.2) — Best game: BALL x PIT (89)
- 13. Koei Tecmo (289.2) — Best game: Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy (87)
- 12. Nintendo (299.2) — Best game: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition (95)
- 11. Ubisoft (300.4) — Best game: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes (86)
- 10. Raw Fury (301.0) — Best game: Blue Prince (92)
- 9. Dotemu (302.2) — Best game: Absolum (90)
- 8. Electronic Arts (302.9) — Best game: Split Fiction (93)
- 7. Sega (303.9) — Best game: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (88)
- 6. Take-Two Interactive (304.0) — Best game: Borderlands 4 (90)
- 5. Microsoft (305.7) — Best game: Forza Horizon 5 PS5 (92)
- 4. Thunderful (306.8) — Best game: ISLANDERS: Recent Shores (83)
- 3. Capcom (322.2) — Best game: Monster Hunter Wilds (90)
- 2. Gamirror Games (322.4) — Best game: Absolum (87)
- 1. Square Enix (330.5) — Best game: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth PC (90)
Metacritic’s rankings are based solely on critic review scores, factoring in average Metascore, percentage of positively and negatively reviewed titles, and bonus points for games scoring 90 or higher. Sales and user reviews will not be considered. Only publishers with five or more distinct titles released in 2025 are included.