Square Enix has secured the number one spot on Metacritic’s annual Best Game Publishers list, having released nine games in 2025 with an average Metacritic score of 84. This is the first time Square Enix has topped the rankings since Metacritic began releasing the list in 2010.
What the rankings aren’t telling us, though, is that Square Enix’s critical success in 2025 is powered by nostalgia. The Japanese RPG giant only released one new title last year, Octopath Traveler 0, with the remaining titles all remakes or remasters of classic games from the golden age of JRPGs. Recently, Square Enix producer Yoshi-P expressed concerns that the Final Fantasy franchise is losing relevance with a younger audience, and it’s not hard to see why considering the company’s apparent reliance on nostalgia-driven refreshes.
This wasn’t always the case, though. From around 2011 to 2023, the publisher pushed development of several new, original IPs in attempts to capture a burgeoning AA market. The strategy didn’t pan out, by Square Enix’s own admission, with underwhelming sales figures on games like Bravely Default, Triangle Strategy, and DioField Chronicle, despite generally positive critical reception.
Square Enix has several titles lined up for release in 2026, none of which are refreshes. There’s the long-awaited Dragon Quest XII and Kingdom Hearts IV, both much-anticipated games in established franchises. The company is still experimenting with lower-budget titles, too, as evidenced by February’s Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse and this June’s The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales.
