Here’s the thing about Sony: it owns a bunch of developers. The company controls over a dozen PlayStation-exclusive studios around the world, with several more having been closed in recent years.

There’s a lot of talk about which of these developers is the best. Everyone has an opinion. But what if you looked at each studio only through the lens of the reviews they receive? We did just that, ranking each Sony-owned studio – both present and defunct – by nothing more than the average of the Metacritic scores their games earned.Here’s what we came up with. (Please note: defunct Sony-owned studio 989 and current Sony-owned studio Sony London are not included in this list. 989’s offerings are too old for Metacritic scores [and its spirit is alive and well at Sony San Diego]; Sony London’s numbers are skewed due to its focus on the mainstream, casual gamer.)

Guerrilla Cambridge

Founded : 1997 (as Sony Cambridge)

: 1997 (as Sony Cambridge) Status : Active

: Active Current Project(s) : Unknown

: Unknown Games Released : 10 (8 with scores)

: 10 (8 with scores) Average Metacritic Score : 69.3

: 69.3 Ranking: 15th

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Game Title Platform Release Date Metacritic Score LittleBigPlanet PSP 2009 87 Killzone: Mercenary Vita 2013 78 Primal PlayStation 2 2003 73 Ghosthunter PlayStation 2 2004 69 MediEvil: Resurrection PSP 2005 66 C-12: Final Resistance PlayStation 2002 63 24: The Game PlayStation 2 2006 62 TV Superstars PlayStation 3 2010 56 MediEvil PlayStation 1998 N/A MediEvil 2 PlayStation 2000 N/A

For a very long time, Guerrilla Cambridge was known as Sony Cambridge, and it was perhaps best-known for the PlayStation-era series MediEvil. Since then, it jumped around from random project to random project, never creating anything memorable (except for a portable spin on Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet series). But when it was rebranded Guerrilla Cambridge, it busted out, delivering one of PS Vita’s best games in the form of Killzone: Mercenary.

BigBig Studios

Founded : 2001

: 2001 Status : Defunct

: Defunct Current Project(s) : N/A

: N/A Games Released : 4

: 4 Average Metacritic Score : 71

: 71 Ranking: 14th

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Game Title Platform Release Date Metacritic Score MotorStorm: Arctic Edge PSP 2009 79 Pursuit Force PSP 2006 75 Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice PSP 2008 73 Little Deviants Vita 2012 57

BigBig came and went without making a whole lot of noise. By the time it was closed down shortly after releasing its Vita launch title Little Deviants, the studio had little to show for its decade on the scene, though early adopters of the PSP tend to have fond memories of its Pursuit Force franchise. Still, BigBig did very little to differentiate itself from its many competitors.

Japan Studio

Founded : 1998

: 1998 Status : Active

: Active Current Project(s) : The Last Guardian (PS3), Gravity Rush 2 (Vita), Freedom Wars (Vita)

: The Last Guardian (PS3), Gravity Rush 2 (Vita), Freedom Wars (Vita) Games Released : 24

: 24 Average Metacritic Score : 74.7

: 74.7 Ranking: 13th

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Game Title Platform Release Date Metacritic Score Shadow of the Colossus PlayStation 2 2005 91 Ape Escape PlayStation 1999 90 ICO PlayStation 2 2001 90 LocoRoco 2 PSP 2009 85 Gravity Rush Vita 2012 83 LocoRoco PSP 2006 83 Ape Escape 2 PlayStation 2 2003 82 EchoChrome PlayStation 3 2008 81 Puppeteer PlayStation 3 2013 80 EchoChrome II PlayStation 3 2010 79 Siren: Blood Curse PlayStation 3 2008 78 Ape Escape 3 PlayStation 2 2006 77 The Last Guy PlayStation 3 2008 77 The Eye of Judgement PlayStation 3 2007 75 Tokyo Jungle PlayStation 3 2012 74 LocoRoco Cocoreccho! PlayStation 3 2007 72 Rain PlayStation 3 2013 72 Siren PlayStation 2 2004 72 Trash Panic PlayStation 3 2009 72 Piyotama PlayStation 3 2007 70 Ape Escape: On the Loose PSP 2005 66 Knack PlayStation 4 2013 56 Ape Escape Academy PSP 2006 51 Kung-Fu Rider PlayStation 3 2010 36

Sony’s Japan Studio (sometimes referred to as Studio Japan) is perhaps Sony’s most active fully-owned developer. Like Sony’s XDEV initiative, Japan Studio often helps on and co-develops projects, and has worked with the likes of Level-5 on Rogue Galaxy and White Knight Chronicles, Pyramid on the Patapon series, and From Software on Demon’s Souls. For the sake of this exercise, however, we’ve only included games fully developed by Japan Studio itself (like the Ape Escape franchise), or developed by internal teams like Team ICO (ICO, Shadow of the Colossus) and Project Siren (Siren).

Guerrilla Games

Founded : 2000

: 2000 Status : Active

: Active Current Project(s) : Unknown PS4 Project

: Unknown PS4 Project Games Released : 6

: 6 Average Metacritic Score : 75.7

: 75.7 Ranking: 12th

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Game Title Platform Release Date Metacritic Score Killzone 2 PlayStation 3 2009 91 Killzone 3 PlayStation 3 2011 84 Killzone: Liberation PSP 2006 77 Killzone: Shadow Fall PlayStation 4 2013 74 Killzone PlayStation 2 2004 70 Shellshock: Nam ‘67 PlayStation 2 2004 58

Guerrilla Games made a name for itself when it created Killzone, the late-generation PlayStation 2 shooter that many hoped would rival what Microsoft had with Xbox and Halo. It didn’t quite work out that way, but Sony and Guerrilla have never abandoned the dream, continuing with several more Killzone games, including Shadow Fall, which was a PS4 launch title. The Dutch studio has since vowed to move on to something else, but will it be able to shake its Killzone roots?

Sony San Diego

Founded : 2001

: 2001 Status : Active

: Active Current Project(s) : MLB 14: The Show (PS4/PS3/Vita)

: MLB 14: The Show (PS4/PS3/Vita) Games Released : 20 (19 with scores)

: 20 (19 with scores) Average Metacritic Score : 77

: 77 Ranking: 11th

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Game Title Platform Release Date Metacritic Score MLB 10: The Show PlayStation 3 2010 91 MLB 09: The Show PlayStation 3 2009 90 MLB 11: The Show PlayStation 3 2011 90 MLB 12: The Show PlayStation 3 2012 87 MLB 13: The Show PlayStation 3 2013 87 MLB 08: The Show PlayStation 3 2008 85 MLB 06: The Show PlayStation 2 2006 83 The Mark of Kri PlayStation 2 2002 80 NBA 09 PSP 2008 79 MLB 07: The Show PlayStation 3 2007 77 NBA 08 PSP 2007 75 ModNation Racers PSP 2010 73 NBA 06 PSP 2005 72 PAIN PlayStation 3 2007 71 NBA 10 PSP 2009 69 NBA 07 PSP 2006 68 High Velocity Bowling PlayStation 3 2007 66 ModNation Racers: Road Trip Vita 2012 62 NBA PSP 2005 57 Pinball Heroes PSP 2009 N/A

If Sony San Diego could be described simply, it would be as Sony’s in-house sports studio. Its old NBA series was a mainstay on PSP, while it’s best-known for its superb MLB: The Show franchise. It also worked on a few ModNation Racers titles and a handful of other non-sports games. (Both NBA and MLB: The Show appeared on multiple platforms. We boiled down the scores to the “dominant” platform the game was made for, which was primarily PSP for NBA and PS3 for MLB: The Show.)