Metacritic has been tracking publisher rankings since 2011, and in all that time, Square Enix had never once taken the top spot. That changed with the 2025 rankings, where the publisher averaged a Metascore of 84 across its entire release slate to claim its first-ever number one position. The key here is almost everything Square Enix shipped last year was a remake, remaster, or port, and that bet paid off in a big way.
How Square Enix built its best year on paper
The backbone of this achievement is a lineup that reads like a greatest hits collection. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, the long-awaited enhanced version of the 1997 tactical RPG, arrived on all major platforms on September 30 and pulled an 88 Metascore. The Xbox port of Final Fantasy 16 matched that figure exactly. The PC port of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth led the entire publisher with a 90, making it Square Enix's highest-rated release of the year.
The rest of the slate kept the average healthy. Dragon Quest 1+2 HD2D Remake, Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, Romancing Saga 2, and Octopath Traveler 0 (technically an expanded remake of a mobile title) all posted positive numbers. Even the year's weakest performer, SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, still landed at 76. There was no genuine flop in the bunch.
Square Enix's entire 2025 publisher ranking was built almost exclusively on remakes, remasters, and ports. The publisher released just one title that could be considered original new content during the year.
What most players miss when looking at this list is how consistent the floor was. A publisher ranking on Metacritic isn't just about ceiling scores. It rewards publishers who don't release anything that tanks the average. Square Enix's strategy of leaning into its back catalog meant every release was a known quantity with a built-in audience.
The original Final Fantasy Tactics director didn't see this coming
The success of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles in particular caught even its creators off guard. The original director of Final Fantasy Tactics publicly admitted he had underestimated how popular the remake would be, with the title passing 1 million copies sold. That's a strong number for a tactical RPG that originally launched nearly three decades ago, and it signals that the appetite for Square Enix's classic properties runs deeper than the publisher itself expected.
For context on just how significant the release was, the PlayStation Blog confirmed the game includes two different versions of Final Fantasy Tactics so players can experience both the original and the enhanced edition. That kind of attention to the source material clearly resonated with critics.
Tactics battle grid layout
Where everyone else landed
The rest of the top 10 tells its own story. Chinese indie publisher Gamirror Games took second place, with Dotemu's Absolum as its top scorer. Capcom grabbed third on the strength of Monster Hunter Wilds, Nintendo Switch 2 ports of Street Fighter 6 and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, and rereleases like Onimusha 2 and Capcom Fighting Collection 2.
Sega, the only publisher to win the ranking three times (for 2015, 2020, and 2024), slipped to seventh place. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition and Football Manager 26 weren't enough to defend the title.
The most notable absence from the top 10 is Nintendo. Despite Donkey Kong Bananza being many critics' game of the year, Mario Kart World landing strong reviews, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition being the highest-rated individual game of 2025, releases like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and Drag x Drive dragged the average down enough to keep the platform holder off the list entirely. Launching a new console in the same year you're being evaluated is a genuine liability in this format.
What a remake-heavy strategy actually proves
There's a version of this story where Square Enix's win gets dismissed as playing it safe. Remakes and ports carry less creative risk than original titles. But that reading misses what the publisher actually pulled off: executing a high volume of catalog releases at a consistently high quality level, across multiple franchises and platforms simultaneously. That's harder than it sounds, and the Metacritic numbers back it up.
With Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 on the horizon and the Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles team already teasing future updates, Square Enix's catalog strategy shows no signs of slowing down. Make sure to check out more:
