Metacritic Names Square Enix Top Publisher of 2025, Remasters Key to Success

Metacritic has released its highly anticipated ranking of the best video game publishers for 2025. This annual list evaluates companies based on the games they launched throughout the year and their critical reception from international media outlets.

Topping the chart for the first time in 16 years is Square Enix. The publisher secured the leading position with an impressive average Metascore of 84 across nine titles released, all of which were positively reviewed by critics. A significant contributor to their success was Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for PC, which achieved an outstanding average score of 90.

A notable factor in Square Enix's triumph in 2025 was the strong performance of their remasters and remakes of classic games. High-quality re-releases like Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles both earned an average score of 88. SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered also contributed positively with an average of 81.

The Top 10 Publishers of 2025

Metacritic's publisher ranking system is based on a comprehensive scoring model that considers four key factors: the average annual Metascore of a publisher's releases, the percentage of games that received positive reviews, the percentage of titles that garnered negative reviews, and the number of "excellent" productions achieving a score of 90 or higher.

Utilizing these criteria, Square Enix led the pack with 330.5 points. Following closely in second place was Gamirror Games (formerly Gamera Games) with 322.4 points, a publisher renowned for its high-quality, often lower-budget productions. Capcom rounded out the top three, boasting an average Metascore of 83 across its releases.

Here's the full top 10 list:

1. Square Enix - 330.5 points - 84 average
2. Gamirror Games - 322.4 points - 82 average
3. Capcom - 322.2 points - 83 average
4. Thunderful - 306.8 points - 78 average
5. Microsoft - 305.7 points - 80 average
6. Take-Two - 304.0 points - 79 average
7. Sega - 303.9 points - 80 average
8. Electronic Arts - 302.9 points - 79 average
9. Dotemu - 302.2 points - 81 average
10. Raw Fury - 301.0 points - 79 average