Team Ico was also responsible for, of course, Ico, and eventually reformed into genDESIGN to finish off The Last Guardian; both excellent games.
4.THATGAMECOMPANY
Journey was one of those games that just hit everyone in the feels out of nowhere. The fact that you explore this world with a random person by your side with no means of communication besides chirps and symbols makes the whole experience that much more special, and getting to the “special place” at the end of the game will either make you cry or rethink your beliefs in life.
Thatgamecompany not only created the masterpiece that is Journey, but also developed Flow and Flower, two other games that challenge the notion that games have to have combat or story to be worth playing. Thatgamecompany always strives to create unique gameplay experiences that shake up in the industry in the best way possible. Their next game, Sky, was scheduled to release late last year, but was unfortunately pushed back to an unknown date. The development team seems to be taking their time on their next title and that is perfectly fine with us.
3.KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS
Oh, it’s always a sad day when we have to sit down and talk about Hideo Kojima and his relationship with Konami. It’s unfortunate that Kojima had to “part ways” with Konami, but Kojima did work on one of the most popular franchises in video game history, and that’s all that really matters.
Kojima Productions was founded in 2005 by Kojima himself and led to the development of some pretty high-profile titles, such as: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and of course, Kojima Productions’ last game released by Konami, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. All of which are landmark titles.
Kojima Productions is still going strong though with the current development of Death Stranding, Kojima’s first game independent of Konami, which is being published by Sony. We just heard the news that Troy Baker is working on the title as a voice actor, so it’s got to be good.
2.ROCKSTAR NORTH
Looking at the massive success and critical acclaim that Grand Theft Auto V obtained should tell you that Rockstar North doesn’t play around when it comes to their games. With games like Chinatown Wars, Red Dead Redemption, Vice City Stories, San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto IV under their belt, Rockstar North knows how to deliver a great game.
GTA V in particular continues to rake in cash, even after five years of release, which is just incredible and slightly insane. Until we see otherwise, expect Rockstar North to continue to develop classic title, after classic title.
1.ROCKSTEADY
Games based off of existing properties like films and superhero comics usually don’t fare well, especially in the early 2000’s (We’re looking at you Superman 64). One developer managed to get it done right, more than once, with the Batman: Arkham trilogy. Rocksteady Studios was only founded in 2004 and their first game before jumping into the world of comics, was a game called Urban Chaos: Riot Response for PS2 and Xbox. We know, that name is terrible and it couldn’t possibly have been any good. Urban Chaos actually turned out to be pretty decent and it sits at a respectable 73 on Metacritic, which could have been very worse.
Besides releasing Batman: Arkham VR about two years ago, the studio has been silent on the details of their next project. Will we be getting another Batman game? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean that the studio won’t try tackling another superhero in DC universe; maybe we’ll see a Justice League game? Whatever Rocksteady is working on – with their track record – it’s likely to be another hit.
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