Comparing the 2016 releases of game publishers

Which game publishers released the best games last year? For the seventh straight year, we have sifted through 12 months of data to determine the best and worst game publishers of the year, based solely on the quality of their 2016 releases. Sales and user reviews do not factor into these rankings; only critic reviews (as captured by each game's Metascore) are used to evaluate performance.

Ranking of major publishers

We divided publishers into two separately ranked groups, based on the number of games they released during the last calendar year. Our first group consists of the largest companies, who each published 12 or more unique titles (with Metascores) during 2016. (The cutoff was formerly 14 or more unique titles, but we reduced it this year due to an industry-wide decline in the number of games published by most companies.) The remaining "mid-size" publishers, detailed further down the page, each released between 6-11 unique titles last year. Publishers with 5 or fewer unique titles are excluded.

We have ranked these publishers in order from best overall game quality to worst, using a formula based on four factors:

Average Metascore for all games released in 2016 % 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)

Note that the Metascore average (the first factor) counts slightly more than the other factors. (Detailed scoring information appears in a table below the rankings.) In addition, note that iOS games are not included in the figures below.

Here is how the major publishers stacked up based on the quality of their 2016 releases:

1. Electronic Arts

Previous year's rank: 7

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 13 Total Products 28 Average Metascore 79.7 ▲ 7.8 Metascore Distribution

Best Overall Release Titanfall 2 (PS4) 89 Best New IP * Unravel (PC) 81 Worst Overall Release Need for Speed (PC) 68 Metacritic Users' Favorite ** 4 products (incl. Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, and Unravel) tied with ... 8.4

Yes, the publisher that gamers love to hate had a pretty great 2016, leading all companies with an average Metascore of just shy of 80. The 35-year-old EA saw an impressive 79% of its releases receive positive reviews from critics, also tops among all publishers. That's an impressive turnaround from the previous year, when just one-third of the company's releases had green Metascores. EA Sports-branded games averaged nearly 81 (with every release receiving positive reviews), while the publisher's non-sports games averaged just over 79. None of EA's games hit the 90 mark, but several came close, including a Titanfall sequel and its WWI-era Battlefield entry Battlefield 1, which also had the best launch of any game in the series to date.

2. Square Enix

Previous year's rank: n/a

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 29 Total Products 49 Average Metascore 77.1 ▼ 0.2 Metascore Distribution

Square Enix was our #5 mid-size publisher in last year's rankings, but jumped up to the majors this year by greatly increasing its quantity of titles released (by 17). Impressively, it did so without sacrificing quality; in fact, Square Enix actually had a higher percentage of products receiving positive reviews than it did a year ago. And the publisher's newish indie games initiative, Square Enix Collective, got off to a strong start by releasing a pair of positively reviewed titles in Portal-inspired puzzler The Turing Test and point-and-click adventure Goetia.

3. Nintendo

Previous year's rank: 6

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 30 Total Products 31 Average Metascore 76.5 ▲ 4.8 Metascore Distribution

Despite the fact that its Wii U console spent the year fading into irrelevance, Nintendo had more unique titles than any other publisher and managed to improve the overall quality of its releases—mainly by sticking to its handheld device. Nintendo's 3DS games averaged two points higher than its Wii U releases (which numbered just 7 on the year, led by remake The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD). The coming year, of course, should be more interesting, with Nintendo launching its new Switch console next month.

4. Sony

Previous year's rank: 3

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 23 Total Products 23 Average Metascore 70.9 ▼ 3.6 Metascore Distribution

Unlike Nintendo, Sony has abandoned its handheld hardware, opting not to publish any games for the Vita in 2016. All 23 of its scored releases were PS4 titles, led by our overall 2016 game of the year, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Despite that game's impressive score, Sony saw its Metascore average drop by over three points over the past year, while its percentage of games receiving positive reviews fell from 54% to 43%. One reason for the decline appears to be a variety of unimpressive software for the PlayStation's new VR headset, with VR titles accounting for nine of Sony's 14 lowest-scoring releases in 2016.

5. XSEED Games (Marvelous USA)

Previous year's rank: n/a

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 12 Total Products 19 Average Metascore 71.5 ▲ 0.1 Metascore Distribution

Jumping up to the major group this year, XSEED saw its Metascore average remain about the same despite a drop in its percentage of releases that received positive reviews from critics (which fell from 54% a year ago to just 37% this year).

6. Capcom

Previous year's rank: n/a

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 14 Total Products 22 Average Metascore 71.0 ▼ 5.9 Metascore Distribution

After several years in our mid-size publishers group, the 37-year-old Japanese company returned to the majors this year by increasing the number of titles released. But 2016 was not a great year for Capcom, which saw its Metascore average fall by nearly six points. The reason? Quite a few lackluster Resident Evil (re)releases. All eight of its lowest-scoring games last year were part of the Resident Evil franchise; subtract all RE products, and Capcom's average score rises to a very good 78. (That problem seems like it has been corrected heading into 2017, as Capcom's new Resident Evil game is receiving strong marks from critics.) But Capcom also shied away from major releases last year (one reason, perhaps, that sales declined), and failed to release any new properties.

7. Activision Blizzard

Previous year's rank: 4

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 16 Total Products 29 Average Metascore 71.0 ▼ 1.0 Metascore Distribution

Best Overall Release Overwatch (PC) 91 Best New IP Overwatch (PC) 91 Worst Overall Release Ghostbusters (PS4) 30 Metacritic Users' Favorite World of Warcraft: Legion (PC) 7.3

Despite the introduction of its hit new multiplayer shooter Overwatch, Activision Blizzard experienced an unimpressive 2016, with only 45% of its products winning critic approval (compared to 54% the prior year). But get rid of the lousy movie tie-ins Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan and Activision's average jumps up to nearly 79. The average for Blizzard-branded releases, by the way, is just under 85 (for the second straight year).

8. Bandai Namco Entertainment

Previous year's rank: 8

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 21 Total Products 36 Average Metascore 70.8 ▲ 1.3 Metascore Distribution

Despite modest improvements in average Metascore and in the percentage of products receiving positive reviews from critics (which rose from 31% to 39%), the venerable Japanese company once again finds itself near the bottom of our list. There's no one culprit to point to; merely a large number of mediocre releases and a lack of any notable new properties.

9. Telltale Games

Previous year's rank: 2

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 19 Total Products 49 Average Metascore 71.1 ▼ 3.5 Metascore Distribution

Perhaps the novelty of episodic adventures based on your favorite pop culture franchises has worn off, as Telltale saw its average Metascore decline for the second straight year. (It was nearly 80 just two years ago.) Take out two third party titles (developed by an outside company) and Telltale's average increases a bit, to 72.5. But it's not a good sign that critics approved of just 31% of the company's 2016 releases (compared to 55% the previous year).

10. Ubisoft

Previous year's rank: 9

Scored Releases - 2016 Unique Titles 21 Total Products 45 Average Metascore 69.0 ▼ 0.9 Metascore Distribution

Ubisoft finished dead last for the second consecutive year, thanks in large part to finishing 2016 with the lowest average Metascore of any major publisher. Only 29% of Ubisoft's releases scored positive reviews from critics—lowest among all major publishers, sure, but actually an improvement over the prior year, when Ubisoft's success rate was just 18%.

Recap: rankings at a glance

Here are the above rankings again in a more compact form, with the points displayed, for anyone wishing to see just how close a race it was:

Major Publisher Rankings, 2016 Releases Metascore Good Games Bad Games Great Games Publisher Avg. Pts. % Pts. % Pts. # Pts. Total Pts. 1 Electronic Arts 79.7 119.6 79% 78.6 0% 100.0 0 0.0 298.2 2 Square Enix 77.1 115.7 69% 69.4 0% 100.0 0 0.0 285.0 3 Nintendo 76.5 114.8 58% 58.1 0% 100.0 0 0.0 272.8 4 Sony 70.9 106.3 43% 43.5 0% 100.0 1 5.0 254.8 5 XSEED Games (Marvelous USA) 71.5 107.3 37% 36.8 0% 100.0 1 5.0 249.1 6 Capcom 71.0 106.5 50% 50.0 9% 90.9 0 0.0 247.4 7 Activision Blizzard 71.0 106.5 45% 44.8 14% 86.2 1 5.0 242.5 8 Bandai Namco Entertainment 70.8 106.3 39% 38.9 3% 97.2 0 0.0 242.4 9 Telltale Games 71.1 106.7 31% 30.6 4% 95.9 0 0.0 233.2 10 Ubisoft 69.0 103.5 29% 28.9 2% 97.8 0 0.0 230.1

Ranking of mid-size publishers

Each of the "mid-size" publishers listed below released between 6-11 unique titles in 2016. They are ranked according to the exact same methodology we used to rank the larger publishers above, earning points for average Metascore, % of releases that earn positive or negative reviews, and the total number of great games.

View our previous Game Publisher Rankings:

2016 (for games released in 2015) / 2015 / 2014 / 2013 / 2012 / 2011

More of our Best of 2016 coverage:

Best Games of 2016 | Worst Games of 2016