Top 20 Game Studios: Who’s Your Favorite?
With the creation of game engines such as Unity and Unreal there are more game development studios than ever offering unique choice and variety for gamers. With the success of smaller Indie studios such as Klei and Heart Machine there really is no limit to the creative imagination for developers. With that being said, this is not an exhaustive list, neither is it in any particular order. It’s simply a selection of the top 20 game companies that are currently creating quality content for consumers — so check it out and see who’s your favorite…
Top 20 Game Studios:
Valve have a collection of AAA titles including Half-life and Portal which redefined PC gaming. They also make consumer electronic devices for PC and created the Steam platform in 2003. Steam has helped many Indie game developers publish their first titles.
Sony Interactive Entertainment are famous for the Playstation consoles and exclusive titles including the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne. Sony’s PhyreEngine was used in the making of many other game titles on multiple platforms.
Nintendo is credited with the creation of handheld video game cartridges when they launched the Nintendo NES in the 1980’s. This company has created many unique titles including Mario and Donkey Kong but has focused on more family orientated titles than other companies.
CD Projekt Red’s founders were video game retailers who started the company in 1994. They are an ambitious studio who focus on cutting edge game play and are famous for such titles as The Witcher series and Cyberpunk.
Larian Studios are famous for their smash hit Divinity Original Sin 2 and have taken over development from Beamdog of Baldur’s Gate 3. They have helped redefine the isometric R.P.G genre with cutting edge graphics and multi-player gaming.
Beamdog are best known for adapting the Dungeons & Dragons franchise and creating classic isometric RPG’s such as Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 and Neverwinter Nights.
Blizzard Entertainment are famous for the World Of Warcraft and Diablo series; this studio has cemented itself as one of the go to R.P.G developers since they were established in 1994. However, they have also created first person shooter titles such as Overwatch.
Id Software have defined the F.P.S genre with classic games such as Doom and Quake which have become a staple of popular culture for generations. They were early adapters to the Linux game market, porting such titles as Doom 3 and the Quake franchise.
FromSoftware are a Japanese company who have a history of creating challenging titles such as the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne. They have developed for a wide range of console platforms and have received multiple awards for their games.
Rockstar Games predominantly publishes games in the action-adventure genre and are probably best known for their Grand Theft Auto series and more recently Red Dead Redemption.
GearBox Software are an American based company famous for such FPS titles as Borderlands and Duke Nukem.
That Game Company has a strong emphasis on the artistic and emotional process of game play. They’ve created critically acclaimed games including Journey and Flow.
Bethesda co-developed several game titles with id Sofware including Rage and Doom. They also created their own take on the popular Fallout franchise with Fallout 4 by redesigning the game with less role playing elements and a more first person shooter focus.
Telltale Games have been acquired by LCG entertainment but have left a legacy of unique titles such as Batman, The Telltale series and The Walking Dead, Telltale series.
BioWare are famous for adventure titles including Mass Effect and the Dragon Age series. They have also developed an in-house game engine called the Infinity Engine which was later used by Black Isle studios to create Planescape: Torment. they are owned by electronic publishers EA games.
Square-Enix are the result of a merger between two separate companies and are famous for creating the Final Fantasy series, Dying Light and Nier: Automata. They have also created two in-house game engines, Crystal Tools and Luminous Studio.
Klei is an independent game developer focusing on unique gaming experiences and creating ground-breaking titles across multiple genres; including magical survival games such as Don’t Starve, Mark Of The Ninja and tactical espionage game Invisible Inc.
Lucas Arts was acquired by the Walt Disney company in 2012. They are famous for their Star Wars games and are distributed through EA Games.
InXile Entertainment are famous for cross platform RPG titles including the Wastelands series and Torment: Tides of Numenera. They were acquired by Microsoft Studio in 2018.
Obsidian Entertainment are famous for cross platform RPG titles including Pillars Of Eternity and The Outer Worlds. They were acquired by Microsoft Studio in 2018.
Verdict:
In my opinion some of the smaller independent game studios such as Klei, That Game Company, and Heart Machine are creating some really unique and interesting titles that some of the larger AAA game studios aren’t willing to produce. That being said InXile Entertainment and Obsidian Entertainment have both been acquired by Microsoft Studio and continue to create unique game titles, but lets hope that the large corporate giants don’t squash the creativity of the smaller studios.
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