Metacritic has shared its 2022 game publisher rankings. This year’s list has some shakeups, with Sony taking the top spot and companies like Paradox, Focus Entertainment, and Annapurna climbing up.
The 13th annual game publisher ranking was posted on March 23. Only critic reviews are taken into account to evaluate each company’s performance for the past 12 months.
Metacritic ranks publishers based on its own points system:
- Points for average Metascore are awarded at 1.5 x the average (with a maximum of 150 points possible);
- % of scored games with good reviews (at least 75 on Metacritic), e.g. 70% = 70 points;
- % of scored games with bad reviews (49 or lower on Metacritic), e.g. 30% = 70 points;
- Extra 5 points for every “great” title (90 or higher on Metacritic).
It is worth noting that this year, Sony was the only publisher to release two “great” games: God of War Ragnarok and the PC version of God of War.
Interestingly, Microsoft, which ranked 1st in 2021, failed to make the list this year due to the lack of new game releases.
The top 10 game publishers of 2022
- Sony Interactive Entertainment (ranked 2nd in 2021) — 15 scored games with an average Metascore of 85.6; notable releases: God of War Ragnarok and PC ports of Marvel’s Spider Man and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection.
- Paradox Interactive (not ranked in 2021) — 6 scored games with an average Metascore of 81.8; notable release: console port of Crusader Kings III.
- Activision Blizzard (ranked 4th in 2021) — 10 scored titles with an average Metascore of 76.5; notable releases: World of Warcraft: Dragonflight and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
- Focus Entertainment (ranked 17th in 2021) — 39 scored games with an average Metascore of 80; notable releases: A Plague Tale: Requiem, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and Chained Echoes (“great” game).
- Take-Two Interactive (ranked 27th in 2021) — 35 scored titles with an average Metascore of 78.9; notable releases: OlliOlli World, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and The Quarry.
- Capcom (also ranked 6th in 2021) — 16 scored games with an average Metascore of 78.6; notable releases: PC version of Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil Village Gold Edition.
- Sega (ranked 8th in 2021) — 34 scored titles with an average Metascore of 79.3; notable releases: Persona 5 Royal, Sonic Frontiers, and Total War: Warhammer III.
- Annapurna Interactive (ranked 18th in 2021) — 12 scored games with an average Metascore of 79.2; notable titles: Neon White and Stray.
- Humble Games (ranked 3rd in 2021) — 22 scored titles with an average Metascore of 76.8; notable releases: Signalis.
- Devolver Digital (ranked 11th in 2021) — 25 scored games with an average Metascore of 78.3; notable releases: Cult of the Lamb and Return to Monkey Island.