From coin-operated arcade games to playing games on our smartphones, or even over the cloud, the video game business has evolved and expanded for over 50 years. Genres and gaming studios of all sizes have had their hills and troughs.
There are plenty of articles here at GeeksULTD devoted to video games, but they generally focus on the latest games and or how well they operate on today’s latest PCs. Today, though, we’re going to take a closer look at some of our favorite gaming studios and find out what drives them to succeed. What impact have they had on the market?
10 Best Game Developers of All Time
So, let’s dive in:
Nintendo
- Founded: September 23, 1889
- Genre specialty: Various
- Notable franchises: The Legend of Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Pokémon, Animal Crossing
Nintendo Co. is a Japanese multinational console game and consumer electronics corporation based in Kyoto, Japan. A craftsman named Fusajiro Yamauchi created the firm in 1889 and began making hanafuda playing cards by hand. The company was renamed Nintendo Karuta in 1924.
Bethesda Game Studios
- Founded: 2001
- Genre specialty: First-person open-world RPGs
- Notable franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls
Bethesda Softworks is a video game developer studio located out of Rockville, Maryland in the United States. Christopher Weaver created the company in 1986 as a branch of Media Technology Limited, and ZeniMax Media acquired it in 1999 as an independent subsidiary.
Rockstar Games
- Founded: December 1998
- Genre specialty: Open-world third-person shooters
- Notable franchises: Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne
Rockstar Games, Inc. is a New York City-based American video game publisher. As a division of Take-Two Interactive, the firm was formed in December 1998, using the assets that Take-Two had previously bought from BMG Interactive.
Square Enix
- Founded: September 22, 1975
- Genre specialty: JRPGs
- Notable franchises: Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger
Video game developer and publisher Square Enix is well recognized for its Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and Kingdom Hearts series of role-playing video games, as well as many others.
id Software
- Founded: February 1, 1991
- Genre specialty: First-person shooters
- Notable franchises: Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake
Richardson, Texas, is home to the id Software LLC video game development studio. Coders John Romero and John Carmack along with artist Adrian Carmack and game designer Tom Hall established id Software in 1991.
FromSoftware
- Founded: November 1, 1986
- Genre specialty: Third-person RPGs
- Notable franchises: Armored Core, Dark Souls, Bloodborne
A division of Kadokawa Corporation, FromSoftware, is a Japanese computer game development firm started in November 1986. The business is most recognized for its Souls and Armored Core series including the best-selling titles Sekiro, Elden Ring, and Bloodborne, all of which are noted for their extreme difficulty levels.
Bioware
- Founded: February 1, 1995
- Genre specialty: Choice-based RPGs
- Notable franchises: Dragon Age, Mass Effect,
Canadian video game company BioWare has its head office in the city of Edmonton, Alberta. Augustine Yip, Greg Zeschuk, and Ray Muzyka, along with Marcel Zeschuk, Brent Oster, and Trent Oster, started the company in 1995. For the last decade, ‘Electronic Arts’ has owned the firm.
Valve
- Founded: August 24, 1996
- Genre specialty: Various
- Notable franchises: Left 4 Dead, Half-Life, DOTA, Team Fortress
American computer game developer, producer, and digital distribution business Valve Corporation, often referred to as Valve Software, is based in Bellevue, Washington.
Ubisoft
- Founded:30 May 1979
- Genre specialty: RPGs
- Notable franchises: Far Cry, Watch Dogs, Assassins’ Creed
French video game developer Ubisoft Entertainment SA is based in Montreuil and has studios across the world. Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, For Honor, Rabbids, Rayman, Prince of Persia, Watch Dogs, and Tom Clancy’s, are some of the video games developed by the company.
CAPCOM
- Founded: August 24, 1996
- Genre specialty: Various
- Notable franchises: Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Mega Man
One of the world’s leading video game developers and publishers, Capcom has its inception on August 24, 1996. Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Mega Man, Street Fighter, Dead Rising, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Devil May Cry are just a few of its most popular titles.
That concludes our list of the top 10 video game developers of all time. Did we miss something? Mention your favorite video game developer in the comments.
