Metacritic Names Square Enix the Best Game Publisher of 2025

Square Enix has topped Metacritic's annual game publisher rankings for 2025, marking the first time the developer has ever claimed the number one spot in the 16-year history of the list.

The rankings are based entirely on critic review scores. Sales figures and user reviews play no role here. Metacritic uses a 400-point system built around four key factors:

• Average Metascore across all releases (worth up to 150 points, calculated at 1.5x the average score)

• Percentage of games scoring 75 or higher (up to 100 points)

• Percentage of games scoring 49 or lower (up to 100 points, where a lower percentage is better)

• Bonus points of 5 each for any game scoring 90 or higher with at least 7 critic reviews

Only publishers with five or more distinct releases in 2025 are eligible for the rankings. Mobile games are excluded entirely.

Square Enix finished at the top with 330.5 points and an average Metascore of 84. Every single one of their nine 2025 releases received positive reviews, making them one of only two publishers to achieve a 100% green Metascore rate.

According to Metacritic, their highest-rated game was the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which scored a 90. Other strong performers included Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and Dragon Quest I and II HD-2D Remake, both landing at 88. Even its worst 2025 release, SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, earned approval from critics.

Here is a look at the full top 10 for 2025:

1. Square Enix — 330.5 points, avg. Metascore 84 (previous rank: 6th)

2. Gamirror Games — 322.4 points, avg. Metascore 82 (previous rank: 6th)

3. Capcom — 322.2 points, avg. Metascore 83 (previous rank: 2nd)

4. Thunderful — 306.8 points, avg. Metascore 78 (previous rank: unranked)

5. Microsoft — 305.7 points, avg. Metascore 80 (previous rank: 9th)

6. Take-Two Interactive — 304.0 points, avg. Metascore 79 (previous rank: 12th)

7. Sega — 303.9 points, avg. Metascore 80 (previous rank: 1st)

8. Electronic Arts — 302.9 points, avg. Metascore 79 (previous rank: 23rd)

9. Dotemu — 302.2 points, avg. Metascore 81 (previous rank: unranked)

10. Raw Fury — 301.0 points, avg. Metascore 79 (previous rank: 8th)

Capcom, despite narrowly missing out on the top spot, still managed its third consecutive top-three finish. Monster Hunter Wilds led the charge for them, pulling in a Metascore of 90. As per the rankings, only one product, the PC version of Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Remaster, kept Capcom from a perfect success rate.

Microsoft climbed four places to land at 5th. They put together a solid 2025 across 21 distinct titles with an average Metascore of 80. Interestingly, their two highest-scoring games were PlayStation ports. Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 scored a 92, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also contributed to their tally from the PlayStation side. On the Xbox front, The Outer Worlds 2 (83) stood out as a strong exclusive showing.

Sega dropped from first place to seventh after a year without any 90-plus titles. That said, they still maintained an average Metascore of 80, which is nothing to dismiss.

Sony, on the other hand, had a rougher year compared to 2024. Despite releasing Death Stranding 2 (89) and Ghost of Yotei (86), both well-received titles, they slipped from 4th to 21st with 268.5 points.

Nintendo landed at 12th place. Their slate was largely driven by Switch 2 ports, including a re-release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that scored an impressive 95. They were also the only publisher with more than one game crossing the 90 mark. Still, newer releases like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour (54) dragged their overall average down.

Previous number one publishers include Sega in 2025 (for the 2024 rankings), Capcom in 2024, Sony in 2023, and Microsoft in 2022. Square Enix breaking into that top spot for the very first time makes this a genuinely notable moment in the history of these rankings.