The Most Influential Game Publishers at the Moment

10:33 16 April 2020

This year will see the battle for console gaming supremacy taking place between Microsoft and Sony. But with over 2.5 billion gamers in the world, there's real pressure on game developers to keep the public entertained with evermore elaborate video gaming options. So who are the gaming studios who will be hard at work developing the games that we'll be playing over the coming months?

Multiplayer Games - Blizzard Entertainment

We all know somebody who's vanished from society and become entranced with those massively multiplayer online role-playing games. You'll probably have Blizzard Entertainment to thank for this, as the Californian game studio gave us the era-defining World of Warcraft game in 2004.

This has been superseded by many other trend-setting gaming franchises ranging from the sci-fi action of StarCraft to the hack' n' slash series Diablo. Plus with collectable card games like Hearthstone and Overwatch taking esports into the mainstream, it seems that Blizzard Entertainment always seems to know what's around the corner when it comes to global video gaming trends.

Casino Games - Evolution Gaming

Realism is something of a holy grail for all game developers, and this is something that has helped Evolution Gaming become one of the most prominent developers in the casino gaming industry. Since launching in 2006, Evolution Gaming has become famous for its live dealer casino games and has been featured at many online casino sites. Part of the reason why the user opinions about PlayMillion casino are positive is that their gaming catalogue is home to around 50 different live casino games created by the evolutionary developer.

Evolution Gaming cleverly uses a live video stream so that players can play a variety of table games like roulette, baccarat and blackjack against a live dealer. As a result, the brand has helped millions of gamers around the world enjoy live casino gaming tournaments from the comfort of their own home.

Sports Games - EA Sports

Few brands can compete with EA Sports when it comes to creating hugely enjoyable sports simulators. Since starting operations in 1991, the Canadian company has managed to develop tremendously successful gaming franchises for sports ranging from football and basketball to ice hockey and American football.

A big part of EA Sport's success is how it gains licenses from the official governing bodies such as FIFA, NHL and NBA to use the likenesses of teams, stadiums and players to add that all-important dose of realism. So although Konami's Pro Evo Soccer might get the edge in terms of gameplay for football, if you want to feel like you're actually playing at that Premier League stadium, you'll need to pick the EA Sports FIFA game.

Open-world Games - Rockstar

The aptly named Rockstar game studios have earned a significant reputation for creating games that shock the establishment. In particular, it's the Grand Theft Auto franchise that has become notorious for creating all-manner of decent scares thanks to its notoriously violent adventures.

However, there's always an exciting take on the real-world in Rockstar's games. From the Los Angeles-inspired metropolis of Los Santos in the GTA games to the freedom of being a cowboy in the open-world adventures of Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar's games always make you feel like you are truly living in their fictional worlds.

Family Games - Nintendo

Finally, we can't talk about game developers without mentioning Nintendo. After all, this is probably the most famous game studio in the world, and characters like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon are now deeply embedded parts of our culture.

Where Nintendo succeeded was making video gaming something the whole family could enjoy. Whether it's a frenzied game of Mario Kart or a game of Just Dance on the Nintendo Wii, this Japanese brand can always be relied upon to make us rethink the way we approach video gaming.