Metacritic Crowns Square Enix Its Top Publisher of 2025

Metacritic has published its latest annual publisher rankings, measuring the “best” game publishers of 2025 using critic review scores only. The headline result is a shift at the top: Square Enix takes the number one position, driven by a 2025 slate where every qualifying release landed a positive Metascore under Metacritic’s methodology and minimum release threshold.

This ranking is less about one blockbuster and more about consistency across a year’s worth of products. Metacritic’s system weighs average Metascore most heavily, then factors in the share of releases scoring well, the share scoring poorly, and the number of “great” games that hit the 90+ mark. The result tends to reward publishers with solid mid-to-high 70s and 80s across multiple releases, not just a single prestige title.

Square Enix Wins on Breadth, Not a Single Spike

Square Enix topped the list on the back of nine qualifying titles in 2025 and an average Metascore high enough to outpace the rest of the field. Metacritic also lists the publisher’s best-reviewed 2025 release as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PC), a detail that reinforces the broader pattern behind Square Enix’s year: ports, remasters, and franchise releases that reviewed consistently well across the board.

This is an important nuance because it points to a publisher strategy that performed well under Metacritic’s scoring rules. A year heavy on re-releases can still rank highly if execution is clean and review floors remain strong.

The Top 10 Includes Major Names and Smaller Specialists

Metacritic’s top 10 for 2025 also includes a mix of global giants and smaller labels that excel on curation rather than volume. The top of the table is led by:

Square Enix
Gamirror Games
Capcom
Thunderful
Microsoft
Take-Two Interactive
SEGA
Electronic Arts
Dotemu
Raw Fury

Two points stand out. First, Gamirror Games finishing second signals how much weight a small, well-reviewed slate can carry if it clears the minimum release requirement. Second, Capcom finishing third despite a strong year underlines how tight the margins are at the top when one lower-scoring release pulls down an otherwise clean record.

Sony Missing the Top 10 Is the Real Conversation Driver

The most notable absence is Sony, which does not appear in the top 10 this time around. That does not mean PlayStation had a weak year in absolute terms, but it does suggest Metacritic’s scoring model is unforgiving when a slate includes lower-scoring products alongside headline releases. For publishers, the risk of breadth is that one or two poorly received releases can meaningfully drag down the average.

Metacritic’s list is not a definitive measure of business performance, audience reach, or long-term franchise health. But it is a useful snapshot of critical consistency, and in 2025, that consistency favoured Square Enix and a handful of tightly curated labels.