While many gaming studios may have a great concept for a video game, they don't always have the means to develop it as the production of a video game has become an expensive affair--actors to voice and motion-capture characters, animation and all the shebang.
This is where video game publishers come into the picture.
Video game publishers are well-established companies that finance the design, development, marketing, and distribution of video games. Once a concept is approved by a video game publisher, the gaming studio starts developing it.
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Needless to say, getting funds from a video game publisher has its hassles for the gaming studio. For instance, some publishers prefer only role-playing games (RPGs), whereas some others only finance first-person shooters (FPS). However, lenient publishers provide complete creative freedom to studios.
Here are the top five video game publishers of 2021 based solely on their gaming revenues during the year gone by.
Sony Interactive Entertainment: Founded in 1946 in Tokyo (Japan), Sony became the biggest video game company in the world in 2021 as its PlayStation console--PS5 that came out in 2020--remained the bestseller and in high demand throughout the year. The company clocked a gaming revenue of $25 billion in 2021. Sony also produced many original, exclusive video games for its console, such as God of War, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the Uncharted series, Last of Us (I & II), etc.
Tencent: Founded in 1998 in Shenzhen (China), Tencent clocked the second-highest gaming revenue in 2021 with its mobile flagship game -- Honor of Kings. Besides, the company also owns Riot Games, the American video game studio that created "League of Legends", a popular multiplayer battle royale, as well as Tencent's gaming revenue for 2021 stood at $13.1 billion.
Nintendo: Founded in 1889 in Kyoto (Japan), Nintendo clocked a gaming revenue of $12.1 billion in 2021. "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" remained the best-selling game for the Nintendo Switch console, which also has the legendary Super Mario and Zelda franchises as exclusives.
Microsoft: Founded in 1975 in Washington (USA), Microsoft became the world’s fourth-largest video game company in the world with its Xbox Series X/S, a video game console. Additionally, Microsoft also develops video games itself or owns studios that do. With its acquisition of the next entry in this list, Microsoft has effectively become the world's third-largest gaming company. The company's noteworthy console exclusives include the Forza series and the Halo series.
Activision Blizzard: Founded in 2008 in California (USA) by the merger of American video game companies Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, the company generated gaming revenue of $8.1 billion in 2021. The two best-selling games of the company in 2021 were -- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and the World of Warcraft series. The company also has Diablo among its beloved roster of IPs.
Honourable mentions: Take Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar--the studio responsible for the wildly the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series--generated $3 billion in revenue last year while Electronic Arts (EA), which publishes many of the world's most popular sports franchises, earned $5 billion. Ubisoft, maker of the Assassins Creed, earned a little under $1.5 billion.
