Let’s face it, in the wide, wide world o’ games, any list of THE WORLD’S TOP x, where x is games, reviews, studios or other, is going to be controversial.
However in a recent issues of Games TM magazine, the editorial team outlined their pick of the top 50 development studios in the world. Covering a huge range of companies, platforms and releases, the team used metrics such as influence, regularity, consistency, innovation and cool factor, scoring each out of 10.
Scotland’s Rockstar North scooped the top spot as the best games studio in the world. Here’s what the magazine had to say:
Rockstar was really the obvious number one. But it does not claim that place here because of sales or popularity. It’s here on the merit of its output. Rockstar North is a team that always seeks to turn the rules on their head. It provokes debate and controversy. It challenges ideas and satirises modern life. Most importantly of all, it produces some stunning experiences, writ large over hours of gameplay in massive environments with wonderful levels of detail. And you need only look at the way the rest of the industry has grown and developed since the release of GTA III to see its singular vision trickle down. 3D action games of every stripe now lean on GTA’s template.
Open-world games must follow the sandbox rules Rockstar developed. And as the years have gone by we’ve enjoyed watching those principles polished and refined into Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV and finally Grand Theft Auto V. You need only look at the scope of its most recent game to appreciate just how far it pushes itself. The racing, heists, sandbox exploration and Hollywood-esque action setpieces could each in their own way have supported single games on their own. That they all exist together in one place, so well balanced, is a credit to Rockstar North. It is simply the very best out there.
Congratulations to the Rockstar North team for another well deserved win.
