There are dozens of highly successful international gaming companies, but few can create experiences that appeal to everyone like Nintendo. You only need to look at the Switch's phenomenal success to see that. Despite being released late in the lifecycle of last-generation consoles, the Switch has sold over 90 million units since its release in 2017, surpassing the lifetime sales of the Xbox One and quickly approaching the PlayStation 4.

Nintendo's success extends beyond that. A key explanation for how the company has managed to capture the hearts and minds of millions around the world is rather simple: they first and foremost focus on creating games that are enjoyable. Nintendo is less concerned with other trends such as cosmetic purchases, loot boxes, and weekly raid lockouts. Its creators create the games they want to create. This means that when you play a Nintendo game, you're getting it in its purest form, with no artificial barriers to frustrate or prevent you from progressing. In general, Nintendo developers prefer to create gaming experiences that are unique, self-contained, and accessible to virtually anyone. No matter your experience with the complexities of video games, there's likely a Nintendo game you can pick up and enjoy.

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Founded: September 23, 1889
Genre specialty: Various
Notable franchises: Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Donkey Kong, Animal Crossing

Website: nintendo.com

Bethesda Game Studios has virtually defined the modern open-world fantasy sandbox RPG. The ability of Bethesda as a studio to draw the player in and fully immerse them in a world that feels real is its greatest strength. Bethesda was founded in 1986, but it wasn't until 1996 that it truly established itself. That was the year Daggerfall was released. It has over 15,000 cities, towns, and villages scattered across a procedurally generated world that would take you days to walk across in real life.

Bethesda Game Studios' Morrowind took things up a notch with 3D graphics, improved stories, and a more "alien" world. It forewent Daggerfall's ridiculously large map in favor of a smaller, handcrafted alternative, but it didn't have to give up much depth in the process. With DND-style dice rolls for attacks, gear pieces that slot to individual parts of your body, and custom spell creation, the game remains quite complex. Bethesda's newer games, such as Fallout 3, Skyrim, and Oblivion, are all advanced in terms of graphics, world simulation, and scope, though often at the expense of core mechanical complexity.

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Founded: 2001
Genre specialty: First-person open-world RPGs
Notable franchises: The Elder Scrolls, Fallout

Website: bethesdagamestudios.com

Almost every gamer has heard of Bioware's successes and failures and has probably played one or more of their games, whether a classic like Dragon Age: Origins or something a little more modern like Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition. The company began in 1996 with a mech combat game called "Shattered Steel", but it didn't hit its stride until 1998, with the release of the first Baldur's Gate. The Infinity Engine RPG, published by Interplay Entertainment, was many people's first true D&D-like game. Many of the classes and races found in 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons were present, including the Fighter, Druid, Mage, Thief, Bard, and others.

Obviously, modern Bioware is not the same as it was three decades ago. With the exception of recent releases, however, the studio has never stopped innovating and pushing the boundaries of story-driven RPGs. The aforementioned Knights of the Old Republic are widely regarded as one of the best Star Wars games ever made. It allowed players to go from nothing to Jedi while making difficult moral decisions along the way that seemed to have a real impact on the story and its many characters. The Mass Effect series expanded on this solid foundation by introducing a new art style and a completely new setting.

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Founded: February 1, 1995
Genre specialty: Choice-based RPGs
Notable franchises: Mass Effect, Dragon Age

Website: bioware.com

Rockstar Games have always been a distinct type of experience. No matter the franchise or the year, Rockstar releases have a certain "feeling" to them that few others can match. First and foremost is a believable world that does everything it can to keep you immersed. NPCs walk around, talk to each other, yell at each other, occasionally fight with each other, and frequently interact with the player; though the depth of those interactions was admittedly lacking in previous games, it skyrocketed in Red Dead Redemption 2. People get into their cars and drive around, mostly obeying traffic laws, and they all appear to wear distinctive clothing and have distinct personalities.

The studio's distinct brand of mission design is the next major factor that distinguishes a Rockstar game. Rockstar missions and quests are typically divided into three categories: exposition-heavy riding or driving missions with character dialogue, shooting galleries, stealth missions, and the occasional relaxed moment where you and your friends grab some fast food or go fishing. Furthermore, whether you're playing San Andreas, GTA 5, or Red Dead Redemption 2, you're always free to do whatever you want outside of missions and just watch how the world reacts.

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Founded: December 1998
Genre specialty: Open-world third-person shooters
Notable franchises: Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne

Website: rockstargames.com

The games of the Square Enix include the entire Final Fantasy Series, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, Kingdom Hearts, and far more. Not all of these games became global successes, but many did. Square Enix is a masterful storyteller who understands its niche better than most. They create beautiful, fitting soundtracks for their games, and the titles ooze with style and personality. The infamously-adorable slimes of Dragon Quest are just as unforgettable as Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy 7.

Overall, it doesn't take a die-hard Final Fantasy fan to recognize Square Enix's numerous contributions to the industry. For many western gamers, Final Fantasy 7 was their first proper taste of an eastern RPG, and possibly their first 3D RPG period. Its innovative Materia system made it easier for players to switch between classes, which was far more difficult in other RPGs. Not every Square Enix game innovates dramatically, but it does happen on occasion. Recent Final Fantasy releases, such as FFXV and the FFVII Remake, have both significantly altered the traditional FF formula. The former introduced new action-oriented combat mechanics with relatively hands-off party management, while the latter combines real-time combat with the tactical depth of issuing commands to (and even controlling) party members.

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Founded: September 22, 1975
Genre specialty: JRPGs
Notable franchises: Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger

Website: square-enix-games.com/en_EU/home

id Software was founded in 1991, and its first shooter was released a year later, in 1992. Wolfenstein 3D was the world's first true first-person shooter. The game was nothing special by modern standards, with simplistic pixel art graphics, rudimentary, undetailed 3D environments, and a very small roster of weapons. However, it was revolutionary at the time. There were guards to kill, power-ups to discover, hidden rooms to discover, and a Nazi regime to overthrow. The gameplay mechanics were simple, and they remained simple with id's next major release: Doom.

Id Software's Doom was the game that truly launched the FPS genre. It was brutal, bloody, and incredibly immersive for the time. When hit with a shotgun or rocket launcher, demons would explode in a gory pile of flesh, and weapons had a satisfying 'crunch' to them that Wolfenstein 3D lacked. While Wolf3D was the first FPS, Doom was by far the most influential. It inspired the Quake series, which attempted to bring what made Doom great to the 3D realm. It also prioritized multiplayer functionality, providing both story co-op and fast-paced online deathmatch. Active dodging and movement were also emphasized, due to the discovery of tactics like rocket jumping, bunny hopping, and wall-running.

Detailed information:

Founded: February 1, 1991
Genre specialty: First-person shooters
Notable franchises: Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake

Website: idsoftware.com/en-us

FromSoftware is a developer who created a series of games that are so fun, popular, iconic, and bloody difficult that dozens upon dozens of other studios have attempted to emulate them in some way. FromSoftware was founded in 1994 as a game development studio, but it had previously developed productivity software. When FromSoftware did start making games, it made a lot of them: nearly 50 in total by 2009, the year Demon's Souls was released for the PlayStation 3.

Since the success of Demon's Souls, FromSoftware has focused almost entirely on Souls and Souls-related games, with only the occasional foray into Armored Core V, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, and Déraciné. Perhaps it's because they prefer subtle environmental storytelling to typical RPG exposition dumps. Perhaps it's because of their crunchy, impactful combat mechanics and freeform character progression systems. All of these factors, and many more, could contribute to the success of a Souls title.

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Founded: November 1, 1986
Genre specialty: Third-person RPGs
Notable franchises: Dark Souls, Armored Core, Bloodborne

Website: fromsoftware.jp/ww

Valve isn't a fast-paced studio that churns out new titles every year, but it may not need to be. When Gabe Newell and his team begin work on a new project, the entire industry takes notice. That level of respect and status does not come easily. Years of dedication, passion, creativity and a focus on polish that is rarely seen in modern games are required.

Valve creates incredible games with lifespans that would make any "live service" salivate. Valve encourages competitors, modders, and other creative types to create experiences that pay homage to, or improve on, the studio's work in some way. And when you look at amazing games like Overwatch and Vermintide, which were inspired by TF2 and Left 4 Dead, respectively, you can't help but be thankful that Valve is still around and innovating, albeit slowly.

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Founded: August 24, 1996
Genre specialty: Various
Notable franchises: Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, DOTA

Website: valvesoftware.com/en

Naughty Dog was established in 1984, and its first game was a simple educational title called "Math Jam". Years later, with the hugely successful Crash Bandicoot series, Naughty Dog ventured into 3D platformers. Those games were far from masterpieces, but they represented a significant improvement over much of Naughty Dog's previous work. Then there was Jak and Daxter, a slightly grittier, more mature (with plenty of humor) series that also emphasized 3D platforming. It did, however, scale things up by adding more open environments and more complex storylines.

Then there was Uncharted, which became one of the most popular third-person shooter franchises. Excellent exploration mechanics, a compelling story, solid character writing, entertaining stealth, and intense combat characterized the series. Each game in the series adds layers of polish to previous successes, both in terms of graphics and core gameplay mechanics. Many consider The Last of Us series, despite having only two games so far, to be Naughty Dog's magnum opus. Plenty of games tell emotional stories, but the campaigns in The Last of Us 1 and 2 are among the most believable and heartbreaking ever seen in a video game.

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Founded: September 27, 1984
Genre specialty: Story-driven action-adventure/third-person shooter
Notable franchises: The Last of Us, Uncharted

Website: naughtydog.com

Blizzard is a gaming industry mainstay. This team has an uncanny ability to take a game genre and put their own unique spin on it, instantly making the game more accessible and enjoyable to the average player. That approach does not sit well with everyone. Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm has all the fun of a traditional MOBA without the frustration. Matches are fast-paced, there are no items to purchase, and there are numerous maps to battle on, each with its own set of win conditions or special effects. Then there's Diablo 3, an excellent ARPG that foregoes much of the complexity of its predecessors in favor of a simpler, approachable experience that you can easily drop into with your friends. Overwatch, Hearthstone, and the World of Warcraft of 2021 have all adopted similar strategies, and despite their troubles, are still heralded as some of the best games in their respective genres.

Even in the early days of World of Warcraft, a game that didn't invent the MMORPG genre but certainly advanced it significantly, Blizzard prioritized accessibility. There was no need to run across multiple continents to reach your corpse after death, and leveling solo through quests was actually possible, whereas it was impossible in early Everquest. PvP gameplay in WoW was also more forgiving, with the worst penalty being time lost from corpse running. In vanilla Everquest, the player who killed you could steal any of your items, regardless of how rare or valuable they were.

Detailed Information:

Founded: February 1991
Genre specialty: Various
Notable franchises: Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo

Website: blizzard.com/en-us