2023 saw a huge number of high-profile video game releases, with several GOTY contenders scattered across the months. While the studios behind titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom were showered with critical acclaim for their efforts, what of the publishers behind these releases?
GameSpot sister site Metacritic has aggregated the numbers to determine the best of the best in the industry. To do so, Metacritic used a points system, calculated by factoring in the average Metascore for each publisher’s games released in 2023, the percentage of products that achieved a “good” Metascore of 75 and above, the percentage of products that achieved a “bad” Metascore of 49 or lower, and the number of “great titles” with a Metascore of 90 and above. Sales and user reviews did not factor into these rankings, as only Metacritic-approved critic reviews were used to evaluate the performance of each publisher. Additionally, a publisher needed to have at least five different game releases during the year to qualify.
For 2023, the top publisher was Capcom. The publisher–and developer–had an incredible year thanks to Street Fighter 6 and the Resident Evil 4 remake, with almost every release being good. Overall, the company had an average Metascore of 84.5 for its games, and it shot from its sixth-place finish in Metacritic’s 2022 publisher rankings to first place, an achievement that deserves kudos.
Other publishers that did well included Raw Fury in second place (16th in 2022), Chorus Worldwide in third place (it didn’t make the top 45 in 2022), and Annapurna Interactive in fifth place (eighth in 2022). Sony saw a big drop in 2023, as it lost its top spot from 2022 and finished up in 13th place.
To see more details on what made the best publishers stand out last year, from the number of games released to the average Metascores these titles accumulated, you can visit Metacritic for a detailed breakdown. For a closer look at the best of 2023 according to Metacritic, you can check out the best-reviewed games on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.
46. Perpetual (Perp Games)
Best 2023 game: VR Skater (PS5) — 77
45. Microids
Best 2023 game: Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express (PC) — 74
44. PlayWay / Ultimate Games
Best 2023 game: House Flipper 2 (PC) — 79
43. Nacon / Daedalic Entertainment
Best 2023 game: Barotrauma (PC) — 81
42. Marvelous / Xseed
Best 2023 game: Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories (PS5) — 76
41. Idea Factory
Best 2023 game: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! – Pirates of the Disturbance (Switch) — 76
40. Untold Tales
Best 2023 game: Bang-On Balls: Chronicles (PC) — 86
39. Freedom Games
Best 2023 game: City of Beats (PC) — 79
38. 505 Games
Best 2023 game: Ghostrunner 2 (PC) — 81
37. Humble Games
Best 2023 game: Coral Island (PC) — 82
36. Maximum Entertainment
Best 2023 game: Bramble: The Mountain King (Xbox Series X|S) — 83
35. PQube
Best 2023 game: ghostpia Season One (Switch) — 82
34. Saber Interactive
Best 2023 game: Teardown (Xbox Series X|S) — 85
33. THQ Nordic (Includes HandyGames)
Best 2023 game: Jagged Alliance 3 (PC) — 81
32. Plaion
Best 2023 game: Ride 5 (Xbox Series X|S) — 84
31. Outright Games
Best 2023 game: PAW Patrol World (Xbox Series X|S) — 79
30. Serenity Forge
Best 2023 game: LISA: Definitive Edition (Switch) — 83
29. Atari
Best 2023 game: Mr. Run and Jump (PS5) — 81
28. Plug In Digital
Best 2023 game: Gravity Circuit (PC) — 89
27. Bandai Namco
Best 2023 game: Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (PC) — 86
(tie) 25. Take-Two Interactive
Best 2023 game: Red Dead Redemption + Undead Nightmare (Switch) — 83
(tie) 25. Frontier Foundry / Frontier Developments
Best 2023 game: Stranded: Alien Dawn (PC) — 81
24. ININ Games
Best 2023 game: Ray’z Arcade Chronology (Switch) — 81
23. Ubisoft
Best 2023 game: Anno 1800 Console Edition (PS5) — 83
22. NIS America
Best 2023 game: The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure (PC) — 86
21. Koei Tecmo
Best 2023 game: Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (PC) — 85
20. Red Art Games
Best 2023 game: Nuclear Blaze (Switch) — 80
19. Square Enix
Best 2023 game: Star Ocean: The Second Story R (Switch) — 87
18. Focus Entertainment
Best 2023 game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock (PC) — 87
(tie) 16. Team 17
Best 2023 game: Blasphemous 2 (Xbox Series X|S) — 85
(tie) 16. Electronic Arts
Best 2023 game: Dead Space (Xbox Series X|S) — 90
15. Microsoft (Xbox Game Studios)
Best 2023 game: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (Xbox Series X|S) — 86
14. Gearbox
Best 2023 game: Remnant II (Xbox Series X|S) — 85
13. Sony
Best 2023 game: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PS5) — 90
12. Playism
Best 2023 game: DRAINUS (Switch) — 84
11. Devolver Digital
Best 2023 game: The Talos Principle 2 (PS5) — 90
10. Thunderful
Best 2023 game: Worldless (PC) — 85
9. Sega
Best 2023 game: Persona 4 Golden (Switch) — 90
8. Bethesda Softworks
Best 2023 game: Hi-Fi Rush (PC) — 90
7. Aksys Games
Best 2023 game: Jack Jeanne (Switch) — 90
6. Nintendo
Best 2023 game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) — 96
5. Annapurna Interactive
Best 2023 game: Cocoon (PS5) — 90
4. DANGEN Entertainment
Best 2023 game: The Last Spell (PC) — 82
3. Chorus Worldwide
Best 2023 game: A Space for the Unbound (Switch) — 85
2. Raw Fury
Best 2023 game: Cassette Beasts (PC) — 83
1. Capcom
Best 2023 game: Resident Evil 4 (PS5) — 93