Metacritic have released their 9th Annual Game Publisher Rankings, and Capcom have come out on top as their best publisher for 2018.
The criteria includes requirements to have produced twelve unique titles, while mid-sized publishers were classified as having released eleven to five titles. Those who produced four or less were excluded. The ranking was then judged by four factors:
- Average Metascore for all games released in 2018
- % of scored products with good reviews (Metascore of at least 75)
- % of scored products with bad reviews (49 or lower; in this case, a lower % is better)
- Number of “great” titles (Metascore of 90 or higher, min. 7 reviews)
Capcom seized this year’s top spot- having been ranked fifth in 2017. The Japanese publisher had an average Metascore of 79.3 across all their titles released in 2018 (2.8 higher than last year).
Highlights include Monster Hunter World getting an average critic score of 90, and Okami HD getting a 8.7 from user reviews. Monster Hunter World not only shipped 11 million worldwide, but was NicheGamer’s Staff and Community Game of the Year.
The company did have a black mark with the release of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, scoring a critic average of 60.
You can find the runners up listed below:
- 2nd – Sega
Average Metascore: 78.5 (up 3.0)
Previous year’s rank: 5
Best Overall Release: Sonic Mania Plus (Switch) 91
Best New IP: Two Point Hospital (PC) 83
Worst Overall Release: Shining Resonance Refrain (PlayStation 4) 67
Metacritic Users’ Favorite: Sonic Mania Plus (Switch) 8.9
- 3rd – EA
Average Metascore: 77.5 (up 4.3)
Previous year’s rank: N/A
Best Overall Release: FIFA 19 (PlayStation 4) 83
Best New IP: A Way Out (Xbox One) 79
Worst Overall Release: Fe (Xbox One) 70
Metacritic Users’ Favorite: A Way Out (PlayStation 4) 8.0
- 4th – Nintendo
Average Metascore: 76.4 (down 1.6)
Previous year’s rank: 2
Best Overall Release: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) 93
Best New IP: Octopath Traveler (Switch) 83
Worst Overall Release: Kirby Battle Royale (3DS) 57
Metacritic Users’ Favorite: (tie) Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2 (Switch), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch), and Octopath Traveler (Switch) 8.7
- 5th – Ubisoft
Average Metascore: 73.7 (down 1.8)
Previous year’s rank: 6
Best Overall Release: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Xbox One) 87
Best New IP: Transference (PC) 78
Worst Overall Release: Far Cry 5: Hours of Darkness (PlayStation 4) 55
Metacritic Users’ Favorite: Child of Light (Switch) 8.5
The bottom six included Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, Digerati Distribution, and NIS America. You can find a full comparison table below:
For Mid-Sized publishers, Activision Blizzard took the top spot, followed by Paradox Interactive, 505 Games, Take-Two Interactive, Aksys Games in the rest of the top five.
So what do you all think? Who was your publisher of 2018? Sound off in the comments below!
