The 8 Most Powerful Video Game Studios

In terms of multiple hits, present impact, and cash money, these are the most influential video game developers in the world. Know your maker.

Most gamers are familiar with big name publishers like Electronic Arts, Activision, and Sega. But what about the development studios themselves? You know, the ones that actually make the games, not just distribute them. Behold! Here are eight of the most important ones.

Epic Games

Founded: 1991
Headquarters: Cary, North Carolina

With the release of its first breakout game (Unreal Tournament), Epic Games has been hawking hard-edged, sci-fi shooters to significant fanfare for nearly a decade. The debut of Gears of War in 2006 on Xbox 360 solidified the studio as a current-gen powerhouse, not to mention their lucrative middleware engine which has been licensed by hundreds of other games. Beefy characters are here to stay, it seems.

Bungie

Founded: 1991
Headquarters: Kirkland, Washington

As the video game industry intensified in the 90s, it became increasingly difficult for developers to enjoy Super Mario 3-like sales of 18 million units sold. But if there's one developer still capable of killer-app type launch hysteria, it's Bungie, makers of Halo. And not only does Bungie design marketable blockbusters, it's credited for popularizing the most dominant console genre today, first-person shooters.

Rockstar North

Founded: 1988 (as DMA Design)
Headquarters: Edinburgh, Scotland

It's funny to think that the creator of the adorable Lemmings would go on to develop one of the most controversial and politically-fueled franchises of the last decade, Grand Theft Auto. But Rockstar North did more than bank on shock-value to rise to the top. As gamers know, the GTA series has become synonymous with sophisticated presentation, deft parody, "open-world" gameplay, and addicting loiterer. Plus, it lets you mow down innocent bystanders, which is always fun.

Maxis Software

Founded: 1987
Headquarters: Emeryville, California

You might not know it, but Maxis Software is the studio behind the best-selling computer game of all time, The Sims. Thanks to its feminine appeal, and excluding earlier games like SimCity, The Sims has sold more than 100 million games worldwide (!) -- the third best-selling franchise of all time. It's no wonder then that company's next (not to mention prolonged) god game, Spore, is one of the most anticipated games of 2008.

EA Tiburon

Founded: 1994
Headquarters: Orlando, Florida

World, I'd like you to meet the king of sports video games, the sultan of simulation, the Madden-maker... EA Tiburon. It's a funny-sounding name, but the studio's yearly success and industry clout is no laughing matter, as Madden NFL Football is the highest grossing property in video game history. And to think the studio was started by just three Southern programmers -- humble beginnings, indeed.

Comments [97]

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nayuan01

Crap, oh well, I've always wondered what are the trading initials of these companies to invest in them in the stock market.

AANTHUNDER

I would have thought the house Mario built would have looked alot modern. Nintendo's building looks like a jail house! Put up some barded wire and guard towers and your set.

Zexion_VI_OrgXIII

I'm surprised they didn't mention Square-Enix (the 4th best selling franchise owners) or CAPCOM or a few others.

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