Year after year, video game companies seek to launch titles that not only captivate old and new audiences but can also make a difference amidst an increasingly demanding player demand.
According to Cristian Duarte, professor of the competitive League of Legends course, currently, video games have gone from being a simple form of entertainment to being a more serious activity due to the development of the concept of esports, which demands greater efforts on the part of video game companies.
That’s why, behind your favourite video games, whether hyper-realistic or pixel art, there is a great team that strives to provide unique experiences. With each passing day, video game companies are in a constant struggle to innovate and stand out among their competitors.
But, while there are several video game brands competing with each other to position themselves in the industry, which ones are the most important? As a true video game fan, you must know which are the top video game companies to stay up to date with their news and know what awaits the gaming world in the future.
To help you with your research, we have written this note with the aim of letting you know which video game companies have the greatest presence in the industry and what we can expect from their studios in 2022.
Ready? Get comfortable and learn with us.
Tencent
One of the leading video game companies in the market. When you think of the most important video game companies in history, Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo are likely the first options that come to mind.
However, we tell you that Tencent Holdings, a Chinese technology and communications hypercompany founded in 1998, is currently one of the video game companies with the highest revenue in the world and one of the largest at the moment.
But what makes Tencent Holdings one of the most important video game companies today? The reason is simple: Tencent, in addition to being a technological powerhouse, is a shareholder in a long list of video game franchises that you surely know.
Although there are many video game companies in which Tencent has invested a percentage of shares, below we will tell you which studios have more than 40% stake.
1.1. Riot Games
If you’ve ever been interested in the online gaming industry, you’ve probably heard of Valorant or League of Legends.
Riot Games is the video game studio responsible for developing this pair of titles that, in addition to having millions of simultaneous players, have become great exponents of electronic sports.
Tencent Holdings has a 100% stake in the revenue generated by Riot Games, and its esports are looking to expand their territory into new horizons. For this reason, by 2022, the video game company plans to expand the esports of the Arena of Valor game by creating more competitions around the world.
According to Tencent Holdings, “The Arena of Valor community and player base is so passionate that we are working on creating something that will take their competitive experience to a new level.”
1.2. Supercell
Supercell is one of the leading video game companies in the mobile gaming industry. It is responsible for bringing to life important titles such as Clash of Clans, Clash Royale or Brawl Stars, one of the best online games to play with the family.
To give you an idea of the money involved in this video game developer, Clash of Clans generated approximately $722 million in revenue in 2019, according to figures from Business of Apps.
By 2022, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars are expected to continue to be optimized to improve the online player experience and attract potential new players.
1.3. Epic Games
Epic Games is one of the most popular video game developers at the moment. This is because the company owns Unreal Engine, one of the most popular and complete graphics engines for developing contemporary video games.
In addition, this video game company is responsible for titles such as Gears of Wars and Fortnite, the battle royale that has dominated the online gaming podium and will continue to be the talk of the town during 2022 with the new versions that Epic Games plans to launch, for which a date has not yet been set.
The truth is that behind Epic Games’ success is the management and administration of Tencent Holdings, involving a 40% stake.
There is no doubt that Tencent Holdings will continue to actively participate in the purchase of shares to strengthen its portfolio and reinforce its reputation as one of the most stable video game companies in recent years.
2. Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony is one of the most experienced video game companies on the market, owner of nothing more and nothing less than the PlayStation brand.
With more than 25 years of experience, Sony has become a cult video game company, characterized by its originality, constant innovation and knowing how to tell stories that captivate audiences.
Like Tencent Holdings, Sony owns a total of 13 video game studios and has created its own community of developers, called PlayStation Studios, to characterize its exclusive releases.
For 2022, Sony is preparing the launch of more than 40 titles, including Dying Light 2, Gran Turismo 7, Grand Theft Auto V, God of War: Ragnarok, and Hogwarts Legacy, among others.
While not all of them have definite dates, the first release of this video game company will occur on February 4th with Dying Light 2.
Below are some of the video game companies owned by Sony:
2.1. Naughty Dog
Known for creating the legendary Crash Bandicoot, developing the Uncharted series and touching on the hearts of gamers with stories like The Last of Us, Naughty Dog is perhaps the video game company with the greatest technological potential in terms of Sony and, why not, in the market.
She is also known for her conceptual illustration of video games and the fluidity of her 3D animations. Her latest release, The Last of Us Part II, took approximately 6 years to develop and to date has won more than 200 awards in different categories.
Currently, according to Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog, the studio is working on something “very cool” and, without giving many details, he asked players to be patient. So it will be a matter of months before this renowned video game company announces its future project.
2.2. Santa Monica Studio
Santa Monica Studio is the video game company responsible for bringing Kratos to life, one of the most iconic PlayStation characters and protagonist of one of the most iconic franchises in the world of gaming: God of War.
After such a successful launch as the last God of War in 2018, fans were wondering what the future was for this video game company that had transformed over the years and had taken unimaginable directions.
After months of speculation, Santa Monica Studios announced in September 2020 the official development of God of War: Ragnarok, the sequel to its predecessor. Although the release is scheduled for 2022, this video game company has not yet revealed an exact date.
To fuel our expectations, the video game developer claims that its next creation will revolutionize the genre and be much better than the last. Will it be worth the wait?
2.3. Guerrilla Games
After having a long experience in the first-person shooter genre, Guerrilla Games is one of the video game companies that took the risk of changing its course to start developing open-world style video games, such as its most recent success Horizon Zero Dawn.
Like Santa Monica Studios, Horizon Zero Dawn’s sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, was announced in mid-2020 via a cinematic trailer that gained everyone’s attention.
Horizon Forbidden Dawn is scheduled to be released on February 18, 2022, and will offer a quantum leap in gameplay and mechanics, as well as a story evolution that promises to surprise all its fans.
3. Xbox Game Studios
The video game company that needs no introduction
Formerly known as Microsoft Studios or Microsoft Game Studios, this is a division of Microsoft Corporation that is responsible for developing and publishing video games.
Like PlayStation, the Xbox line of consoles has left an indelible mark on the industry and is currently one of the video game companies with the greatest impact on the market.
One of the advantages that have contributed greatly to the growth of this video game company is Game Pass, a monthly subscription service with which it is possible to access a catalogue of more than 100 games at a relatively low price.
This makes Microsoft one of the most attractive video game companies for players looking for an ecosystem of experiences, as Xbox Game Studios also stays at the forefront by constantly releasing new games.
In 2022, Redfall, Forza Motorsport, and Starfield are expected to be released. However, as in previous cases, the video game company has not set an exact date for any of the titles; so, if you are interested in one in particular, you will have to keep an eye on official Xbox announcements.
Below are some of the video game studios that are part of the Xbox family.
3.1. 343 Industries
If you’re a regular Xbox gamer, you’ll know that Halo is the company’s flagship. The developer behind Master Chief is 343 Industries, a video game company that has been looking for new ways to improve its products and optimize its technological resources since 2007.
However, this video game company has its eyes focused on the development of Halo Infinite, the new instalment of the popular franchise, which, although it has suffered some delays, is speculated to be released on November 15, 2021.
3.2. Bethesda Games Studios
Xbox’s acquisition of Bethesda has been one of the biggest news stories in the video game industry.
Bethesda was bought for no less than 7.5 billion dollars and all video game franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom or Wolfenstein became the property of Xbox, generating a range of millions of possibilities to form alliances and create increasingly innovative content.
So, what can we expect from the Xbox and Bethesda partnership? The alliance has announced the launch of several titles, including Halo Infinite, Startfield, Forza Horizon 5, Contraband, The Outer Worlds 2, STALKER 2, and more.
All of these titles will be released by the video game company din2022, however, there is no exact date except for Startfield (11/22) and STALKER 2 (05/28). For the other cases, we will have to keep an eye on their official channels.
3.3. Ninja Theory
Ninja Theory is a video game studio that has dazzled the world since the launch of its most recent title Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, a magnificent story about a Celtic warrior who suffers from psychosis and must overcome her greatest fears to achieve her goal.
Since then, Xbox has noticed immense potential in this video game company due to its ability to tell stories and its contributions to social issues such as mental health.
Hellblade was so successful that the studio is currently developing a sequel that is tentatively set to be released in 2022.
4. Activision Blizzard
One of the oldest video game companies
Activision Blizzard is one of the most important video game companies of today. This company arose from the acquisition of Blizzard Entertainment by the veteran Activision, in 2007.
Since then, this company has been responsible for developing and making the most important video game franchises such as Call of Duty, Destiny, Guitar Hero and the popular World of Warcraft.
In May 2016, both companies launched a title that would become one of the most popular e-sports in recent years: Overwatch. Thanks to that title, the video game company generated revenues exceeding one billion dollars in just the first year of launch.
Unfortunately, the outlook does not look promising for Activision Blizzard during 2022, since, so far, they have cancelled BlizzCon 2022, the annual party for the presentation of new projects of the brand that had excited its fans, to focus their efforts on continuing to develop their portfolio of games.
In addition, this video game company has not announced any official release date for its titles. Therefore, to find out any news, we must keep an eye on its official announcements on its website.
5. Electronic Arts
If you’ve ever owned a console, you’ve probably gone to a video game store out of sheer curiosity and bought a sports game. Chances are it was a title from EA, better known by its motto “EA Sports, It’s in the game.”
The truth is that Electronic Arts is the video game company that leads the sports game industry, such as FIFA, Madden NFL, NHL or UFC. Year after year, the company tries to innovate its graphic engines and gameplay mechanics to provide increasingly immersive experiences.
However, you should keep in mind that Electronic Arts doesn’t only specialize in sports video games, as it has also released iconic titles in other categories. These include the driving game Need for Speed, the Dead Space Saga the life simulator The Sims, and its recent release Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.
The video game company’s plans for 2022 focus on the launches of GRID Legends, EA Sports PGA Tour and Dead Space, which do not yet have a set date.