The 10 Best PC Game Companies in the World and Their Top 3 Games
New games and new development studios keep popping up all the time, but as good as some of these newcomers are, there are some PC game companies that we keep coming back to year after year. Whether its for their iconic franchises, consistent innovation, or dedication to making true PC games, these are top ten PC game companies in the world; enjoy the list, you might just learn a thing or two!
10. Relic Entertainment
Don't mess with the Space Marines.
We start in Canada, with the RTS-specialist Relic Entertainment. Although most known for their excellent squad-based Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War franchises, Relic's first foray into the market was in 1999, with the ground-breaking 3D space RTS Homeworld. Relic is also responsible for the lesser-known Impossible Creatures, which let you create armies of genetically modified hybrid creatures. They've recently started to branch out with the third-person shooter Space Marine.
Top Games:
3. Space Marine
2. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
1. Company of Heroes
9. Ubisoft
Riding through Rome in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
Ubisoft is one of the largest game companies in the world today, with offices scattered throughout the globe; would you have guessed that they started making PC games on the north coast of France in 1986? Ubisoft has understandably developed and published far too many games over the past three decades to list, but in recent years they have specialized in action-stealth games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed.
Top Games:
3. Far Cry
2. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
1. Assassin's Creed
8. 2K Games
George Washington can tell lies in Civilization V.
A relatively new developer, 2K Games is nevertheless responsible for some excellent series. Unlike some of our other entries, this American company has branched out into a variety of genres, and has developed popular sport (NBA 2K), FPS (Borderlands, Bioshock), and turn-based tactical (XCOM: Enemy Unknown) games. If that list isn't impressive enough, 2K also makes a little game called Civilization V, which makes everyone want to play just One. More. Turn.
Top Games:
3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
2. Borderlands
1. Sid Meier's Civilization
7. EA Games
Combined arms in Battlefield 3.
Another game company that is probably older than you, Electronic Arts has been making games since the early 1980s, and is currently the third-largest gaming company in the world. Best known among console fans for their iconic, long-running sports franchises like FIFA and Madden NFL, EA Games is also responsible for some of the most engaging and addicting PC games out there. EA also started its own online downloading service, Origin, in 2011, which turned it into one of Steam's largest competitors. Despite the drama, there is no denying that EA is responsible for some of the most popular games out there.
Top Games:
3. The Sims
2. Battlefield
1. FIFA
6. Bioware
Commander Shepherd and crew in Mass Effect 3.
Bioware may be a subsidiary of EA, but we had to give this legendary RPG developer its own spot in the countdown. Another Canadian company, Bioware redefined PC role-playing games with Baldur's Gate in 1998, and made online multiplayer RPGs a reality with Neverwinter Nights in 2002. Since then they have kept the genre going with the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, and have even taken a step into MMORPGs with Star Wars: The Old Republic. Although many of their more recent titles have been released on consoles as well, Bioware is a PC company at heart, which is why they rank ahead of their parent company.
Top Games:
3. Baldur's Gate
2. Dragon Age
1. Mass Effect
5. Rockstar Games
On the wrong side of the law in GTA 5.
Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto are almost synonymous today, but the history of how the two came together is a mess of corporate deals, mergers, and acquisitions. GTA was actually first developed by a Scottish company called DMA Design, which also made, among other games, the original Lemmings. Rockstar Games itself came into being as a completely separate entity in 1998, as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which bought both the GTA franchise and DMA Design (in two separate deals). DMA Design changed its name to Rockstar North in 2002, and is now one of a number of successful development studios within Rockstar Games.
Top Games:
3. Max Payne
2. L.A. Noire
1. Grand Theft Auto
4. Paradox
Lead your chosen country to glory in Europa Universalis IV!
Based in Stockholm, Paradox Development Studio is the premier maker of PC grand strategy games. Since releasing Europa Universalis in 2000 (based on an obscure French board game), Paradox has created a series of grand strategy games that allow players to immerse themselves in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and World War II. Indeed, with only a little bit of modding, it's possible to guide a single country through more than 1,200 years of continuous history across their four main games.
Although Paradox games often have a notoriously high learning curve, they also have incredible replay value. Whether you enjoy military expansion, dominating international trade, colonizing distant lands, or navigating internal politics, there is a Paradox game for you to lose yourself in.
Top Games:
3. Hearts of Iron
2. Europa Univeralis
1. Crusader Kings
3. Bethesda Game Studios
Preparing to explore the world of Fallout 4.
Founded in 1986, Bethesda was originally based, conveniently enough, in Bethesda, Maryland. Before developing the Elder Scrolls series, which is currently in its fifth iteration (TES V: Skyrim) with a recently-released MMORPG (TES Online) and a collectible card game currently in development (TES: Legends), Bethesda was best known for making sports and action games. In 2008, Bethesda acquired the rights to Fallout, and has since turned the franchise from an isometric RPG into a 3D open-world sandbox, which has become the company's trademark. The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series are also eminently moddable, and, perhaps more than any other game series, truly let players explore and experience worlds in their own unique way.
Top Games:
3. Dishonored
2. Fallout
1. The Elder Scrolls
2. Blizzard Entertainment
The iconic battle-cruiser of Starcraft II.
Founded in 1991 by three UCLA graduates, Blizzard was originally known as Silicon & Synapse. The company changed its name to Blizzard in 1994, and over the next four years released Warcraft, Warcraft II, Diablo, and Starcraft, along with its online match-making service Battle.net. This meteoric rise soon made Blizzard a household name, and the sequels to all of these franchises have been even more popular than the originals.
Then, of course, there is World of Warcraft, which after more than ten years still holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG in terms of number of subscribers. Blizzard has also embraced the recent trend toward F2P games; both Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm have already proven to be big successes.
It is difficult to overstate the popularity of Blizzard's games or the impact that they have had on the PC gaming industry, and they are definitely one of the best PC game companies out there.
Top Games:
3. Starcraft
2. Diablo
1. World of Warcraft
1. Valve
DOG and Alyx, your companions in Half-Life 2.
Could any other company have taken the top spot? Founded by two ex-Microsoft employees in 1996, Valve launched the original Half-Life to wide acclaim in 1998. Since then, Valve has continued to innovate the classic FPS formula with games like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Portal, and Left 4 Dead. Valve has also made a foray into the MOBA genre with Dota 2, developed from a mod for Warcraft III. Let us not forget Half-Life 2, which is regarded by many to be one of the best games ever made.
And that's all without even mentioning Steam. Valve's digital distribution platform, launched in 2002 as a way to facilitate the patching of its games, now offers more than 4,000 games for sale and has over 100 million active users. In 2012 Steam launched its Greenlight service, which allows small developers a way to sell their games to a much wider audience. While some may deride Steam's ubiquity, there is no question that it has done great things for the industry.
Thanks to Steam, its consistent support for independent developers, and its portfolio of excellent games, Valve is certainly the top PC game company in the world.
Top Games:
3. Dota 2
2. Team Fortress 2
1. Half-Life
