Microsoft has been making anything but positive headlines lately. Mass layoffs and the announcement to release exclusive titles for the PlayStation 5, were hotly debated online. The developer and publisher Bethesda, which now belongs to Microsoft, was particularly disappointing for many fans. Nevertheless, the company ends up among the Top 10 publishers of 2023. How could that happen?
Indie games save Bethesda's rating
The rating platform published this week Metacritic the list of the 45 best publishers for 2023. It is quite surprising that the US company Bethesda Softworks is on Platz 8 landed.
In addition to the average Metasocre of all titles, the number of games with a “good” rating (over 74 points) and a “great” score (over 89 points) was also evaluated. There were deductions for titles that scored less than 50 points.
The mixed gaming year for Bethesda
Despite the Mega-Flops Redfall The publisher ended the year with 308.3 points in the overall ranking. A total of 12 products were released, 6 of which were new games. With a score of 90 the rhythm game could Hi-Fi-Rush achieve the best rating. The is placed just behind with 89 points Quake 2 – Enhanced Edition.
On the other hand, the big triple-A blockbusters failed miserably in comparison. With a Rating of 56 scratches Arkanes Redfall just barely missed the point deduction.
But also the one developed internally Starfield, which was certainly one of the most anticipated titles of the year, couldn't beat the indie games. Despite divided opinions in the form of 83 points, the space adventure became a success largest launch in the publisher's company history.
The 10 best publishers in 2023 at a glance
Only critics' ratings were used for the ranking on the Metacritic website. Sales figures or user reviews played no role. In addition, the corresponding publisher had to have published at least five different games in 2023. The list of the top 10 best publishers according to the rating scheme explained above looks like this:
Capcom (325.7 points)Raw Fury (318.6 points)Chorus Worldwide (318.5 points)DANGEN Entertainment (316.4 points)Annapurna Interactive (313.6 points)Nintendo (312.1 points)Aksys Games (310.2 points)Bethesda Softworks (308.3 points)Sega (306.1 points)Thunderful (303.3 points).
Those: Metacritic