The latest Metacritic listings for the gaming industry's biggest publishers have come as a surprise. xbox It will surpass Sony and Nintendo in terms of production volume by 2025. Despite the brand celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Xbox has had some bad news over the past few years and is facing concerns about its future position in the console market. After launching its first few titles across competing platforms in 2024, Xbox will expand its multi-platform efforts in 2025, releasing notable first-party franchises including: Gears of War and forza To PlayStation. Additionally, Microsoft's flagship franchise haloYou may see the following launch on competitor platforms:
Xbox has also faced criticism due to layoffs, studio closures, and cancellation of anticipated titles such as Xbox One. perfect dark. Microsoft also controversially raised the price of its Xbox Game Pass subscription service last year to $30 for the Ultimate tier. Earlier this year, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer also announced his retirement, and Xbox President Sarah Bond also resigned from the company. So, with former Microsoft CoreAI president Asha Sharma taking over as its new CEO, Xbox is facing what could be one of its most transitional eras to date.
More Xbox leaders have left Microsoft.
Xbox experiences more changes in leadership as more senior employees announce they are leaving Microsoft.
On Metacritic's list of the best game publishers of 2026 (based on 2025 releases), Microsoft ranked fifth among all publishers, ahead of fellow console manufacturers Nintendo and Sony. For all games released in 2025, including titles from subsidiary Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, Xbox has an average Metacritic rating of 80. In comparison, Nintendo ranked 12th with an average score of 77, and Sony ranked 21st with an average score of 74. Forza Horizon 5 It received the highest score of 92 points.
Rearranges covers into correct US release order.
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Rearranges covers into correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Difficult (10)
With the PlayStation 5's re-release, it wasn't the only port doing the heavy lifting for Microsoft. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the second highest rated title with 86 points. The highest-rated games that Microsoft released on Xbox in 2025 were those from Activision. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4Scored 86 points. Meanwhile, the highest-rated games released by Xbox Games Studios in 2025 are: The Outer Worlds 2It boasts 83 points. Metacritic also notes that a small portion of the library, which received “mixed” reviews, includes reviews from Activision. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 And Bethesda's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Knights of the Giant DLC.
Full list of publishers ranked by Metacritic
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square enix
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gamer game
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capcom
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thunderous
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microsoft
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Take-Two Interactive
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sega
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electronic arts
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dotemu
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Raw Fury
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Ubisoft
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nintendo
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Koei Tecmo
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devolver digital
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konami
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Donnod Entertainment
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Marvelous/XSEED
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clear river games
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PQube
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atari
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sony
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Plaon
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Annapurna Interactive
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bandai namco
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microid
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Nakhon/Dadalik
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Arc System Works
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Idea Factory
While this is an impressive achievement from Microsoft, it's worth noting that a higher number of releases can skew these numbers. By comparison, Sony's score was based on 13 games with 17 unique releases, while Nintendo's score was based on 18 titles with 19 unique releases. Meanwhile, Microsoft's ratings are the result of 21 games out of a whopping 43 releases. This is no doubt thanks to Microsoft's different approach to releasing games in 2025. That's because, unlike Sony and Nintendo, the publisher has ported several of its back catalog games to competing consoles, and some of its major new releases have also received multi-platform releases.
Still, this is definitely good news for Microsoft after a long string of unfortunate news for the Xbox brand. 2026 will be a year of question marks for Xbox, especially with the departures of Spencer and Bond and the appointment of Sharma as CEO. Despite the promise of exciting new titles and the upcoming Project Helix console, the Xbox brand is in a period of transition and questions remain about its long-term standing. Nonetheless, this Metacritic ranking gives us something to feel good about as the Xbox brand heads into what will be one of the most exciting times in its 25-year history.
