[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]
Published by the editorial team behind Develop magazine (
www.develop-online.net) – the leading
international publication for games developers - the Develop 100
listing is produced in association with Metacritic and sponsored by
gamecity:Hamburg.
Metacritic's global review score data for games released in
calendar year 2010 was used to formulate the list, providing a
thorough and accurate rundown of which studios create the best
games, be they retail or digital releases, or PC, console or mobile
games.
The Develop 100 is a snapshot of the global games industry
today: 19 countries are represented, with developers of all sizes
present - from one-man bedroom coders to studios owned by the
biggest entertainment companies in the world.
Nintendo's own EAD Tokyo takes the number one spot, thanks to
the critically acclaimed release of Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Wii -
one of last year's highest rated games.
But two-man Californian indie team 2D Boy takes second place,
with Russian Zepto Lab taking third. Both produced some of the
highest-rated iOS games released in 2010.
The Top Ten in full are:
1 Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Japan)
2 2D Boy (USA)
3 ZeptoLab (Russia)
4 SCE Santa Monica (USA)
5 Blizzard Entertainment (USA)
6 Media Vision (Japan)
7 1337 Game Design (Sweden)
8 Bungie Software (USA)
9 Rockstar Leeds (UK)
10 TheCodingMonkeys (Germany)
The full 100 can be found online at
www.develop100.com.
Just over half the list consists of teams responsible for
popular and applauded iPhone and iPad games - a stirring sign
proving how new smartphone formats and digital distribution has
offered new opportunities for games developers.
"This is the seventh edition of the Develop 100, a must-read
annual full of insight into which games developers are shaping the
industry," said Develop editor-in-chief Michael French.
"Metacritic's input has helped us put together a list of not only
the 100 best developers of recent times, but the 100 best games
too."
"The potent mix of traditional boxed console and PC games with
plenty of digital releases sold through the likes of Xbox Live
Arcade and the Apple App Store shows the vibrancy of the games
industry. For the first time since we've published the Develop 100,
a huge proportion of the list are independent developers, proving
that there has never been so many opportunities open to those
making games."
More details and analysis can be found at
www.develop100.com and
www.develop-online.net
Further Enquiries
Michael French
Editor-in-Chief
Develop
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1992 535 646
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