Metacritic names the best game publishers of 2024

Aggregator Metacritic has published a ranking of the best game publishers of 2024. A total of 37 publishers were rated. Sales and user reviews were not taken into account - only reviews from critics. We will not mention all 37 publishers, but there are some interesting positions.

Nintendo came in at 22nd place, a rare feat as the company usually makes the top 10. However, in 2024 it released relatively weak games such as Ocean Luminous and Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer. Even the company's big franchises didn't fare well, with four different Mario games scoring 77 or lower, and the new The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom becoming the lowest-rated game in the series in 20 years.

Nintendo is expected to regain its position in 2025 with the arrival of the Switch 2 and high-profile releases for the console.

Despite its major challenges, Ubisoft came in 18th place. The company was "pulled" to this position by Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, which, unfortunately, was a financial disappointment for the publisher.

It seems that Microsoft's strategy is finally starting to pay off, as the gaming division ranked 9th among publishers in 2024. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and World of Warcraft: The War Within from Activision Blizzard were well-received by critics and garnered good reviews. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from MachineGames, Bethesda's in-house studio, also received positive reviews from the press. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, on the other hand, received a "yellow" 73 points from critics.

Sony came in at 4th overall. In 2024, the company can boast Game of the Year Astro Bot, Bungie's new Destiny 2: The Final Shape DLC, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and the PC port of God of War: Ragnarok. Critics, while not praising it, still gave Concord a fairly lukewarm reception, pulling it from sales just 2 weeks after its release.

SEGA took first place in 2024. Atlus' JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio received high praise from both critics and players. The eighth installment of Yakuza Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was also a great success, and Sonic fans were treated to an excellent game, Sonic X Shadow Generations.