Square Enix Tops Metacritic's 2025 Publisher Rankings

Metacritic has named Square Enix the top video game publisher of 2025, marking the first time the Japanese company has claimed the annual honor in the review aggregation site's 16th edition of its Game Publisher Rankings, released this week.

The rankings evaluate publishers based on critic reviews aggregated on Metacritic for games released during the calendar year. Square Enix earned the top spot with an average Metascore of 84 across its nine eligible titles, all of which received positive ratings of at least 75. The publisher's strongest performer was the PC port of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which scored 90. Other key releases included Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles at 87, the Xbox port of Final Fantasy XVI at 88, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake at 85, and Octopath Traveler 0 at 84. Even its lowest-rated title, the SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, achieved a solid 75, contributing to the company's consistent performance.

Gamirror Games, a Chinese indie co-publisher, placed second with an average score of 82 from five well-received titles, led by Absolum at 87. Capcom secured third position, averaging 83 across seven games, bolstered by Monster Hunter Wilds at 90...