Develop100.com is a website focusing on the gaming industry, but with a strict focus on developers and business, as opposed to looking at the industry from a consumer point of view. Every year, Develop 100 publishes a list of the world’s 100 most financially bankable development studios.
In the past, the list was determined purely by profitability but this year the list is influenced by a number of factors, such as critical success, industry standing, and of course, sales data.
The world’s 10 most bankable developers
1. Blizzard
Blizzard is responsible for World of Warcraft, two high selling expansion packs and 11million+ monthly subscribers. Then there is StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 on the way. A deserving winner, it would be difficult to argue that Blizzard is in fact not the most bankable developer in the world.
2. Nintendo
Last year’s winner, Nintendo, shipped over 18million combined Wii Fit and Wii Play units in 2008. The mass appeal of the Wii and DS, and Nintendo’s dominance with its own platform make it a highly profitable software developer, and therefore a highly bankable games developer.
3. RockStar North
The team at Rockstar North has been responsible for every single Grand Theft Auto title to date. Grand Theft Auto is one of, if not the most bankable game franchises to date, therefore, this one is a no brainer. GTA IV remains one of the most critically acclaimed and well reviewed multiplatform releases of all time, and grossed over $500,000 in its opening week.
4. EA Canada
This studio is one of the largest in the world, employing over 1000 people. The studio itself has been in operation since 1983, and published games under the Accolade brand until EA bought it out in 1991 for $11million. EA Canada is responsible for Need for Speed, Fifa, NBA Live, NHL, FaceBreaker and more. It is also working on The Sims 3, which doesn’t hurt it prospects.
5. Capcom
This is a no brainer, and it is almost surprising that Capcom did not rank higher. Capcom claims ownership of 2009’s most highly rated game, Street Fighter IV. The list of massively popular Capcom games/franchises is long, and includes Megaman, Bionic Commando, Lost Planet, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Dead Rising and many more.
6. Ubisoft Montreal
Proud owners of Prince of Persia, FarCry, various Tom Clancy titles and Assassins Creed, this developer has proved in the past that it can sell games, and more importantly, build franchises that will sell future games.
7. Treyarch
This one is going to sting a bit for CoD 4 fans. Although World at War is a great game, it is arguably overshadowed by its forerunner, CoD 4: Modern Warfare. Previous to World at War, Treyarch developed Quantum of Solace, Spider Man and CoD 3, none of which are very good games. Many would argue that Treyarch’s success is built upon the foundation laid by its big brother, Infinity Ward. It is a bit shocking that Treyarch is considered more bankable than Infinity Ward, especially since Infinity Ward is releasing Modern Warfare 2 later this year.
8. Infinity Ward
As stated above, it is surprising that Infinity Ward only comes in at number 8. After all, it is responsible for the commercially successful and critically acclaimed CoD 4, which many would agree outclasses anything released by Treyarch. Infinity Ward also developed CoD1 and CoD2.
9. Epic Games
Epic Games has earned its spot at number 9 by developing two of the most critically acclaimed and profitable franchises to date; Unreal and Gears of War. Apart from these two titles, Epic’s Unreal engine is one of the most licensed game development tools in the world, being used in smash hits such as Bioshock and Mass Effect.
10. Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda has two titles to thank for its top ten spot; The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. Both excellently received sales chart toppers, these games and their future sequels should help Bethesda stay profitable for years to come. Bethesda now owns the rights to the Fallout Franchise, and Elder Scrolls V is due out in a few years.
11. Konami – Silent Hill, Pro Evolution Soccer, Dance dance Revolution,
12. Traveller’s Tales – The Lego games; Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman etc
13. Sega Studios Japan – Alien Storm, After Burner, various arcade titles
14. Lucas Arts – Various Star Wars games, Knights of the Old Republic, Republic Commando, Empire at War etc.
15. Neversoft – Anything to do with Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero III, Guitar Hero World Tour.
16. Sora – Super Smash Bros. Brawl
17. Kojima Productions – Metal Gear Solid franchise
18. Media Molecule – Little Big Planet
19. Nexon – Various Asian MMORPGs
20. EA Black Box – Part of EA Canada
21. Valve – Half Life, Portal, Team, Fortress
22. Lionhead – Black and White and Fable franchises
23. Level 5 – Dark Cloud, Jeanne d’Arc
24. EA Tiburon – Tiger Woods, Superman Returns
25. Yuke’s – WWE Smackdown
View rest of Develop100’s list.
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