The countries that made the greatest games of all time, ranked
Video games are for everyone, and in the modern era, anyone can make them. Some countries focus more on the industry than others, but there are still successful studios just about everywhere that have produced some of the best games ever made – and you may not know where they come from.
We’ve gone through Metacritic’s list of the best games ever made, and have ranked the countries of the world based on the game made in that country with the highest Metacritic score. While many of the biggest games are made in collaboration with multiple studios from all over the world, we’re only counting the location of the main development studio for each game.
Sweden – Crusader Kings 3
Paradox Interactive
With a Metascore of 91, Crusader Kings three ties for the tenth-place spot on this list. Paradox Interactive is the champion of strategy, and CK3 is the game with the broadest appeal. It has all of the complex tactical thinking that any of their games do, but comes packaged in the wild world of medieval dynasties, where anything can happen – and usually does. Anyone who’s played the game will have many stories to tell of the weird stuff that happened as they tried to rule their kingdom.
Germany – Crysis
Crytek
Tieing Crusader Kings with a score of 91, Crysis was immediately a beloved first-person shooter when it launched in 2007. It took what was a fairly bold step for the time and launched exclusively on PC, but used that platform to create stunning visuals beyond what the current consoles of the time were producing.
France – Rayman Legends
Ubisoft
Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier in southern France, Rayman Legends proved to be a triumph in 2D platforming design at a time when they were out of fashion, earning it a Metascore of 92. It used the unique energy that only Rayman can bring to give a fast-paced and memorable ride through an increasingly complex world.
Denmark – Inside
Playdead
Based on Copenhagen, the team behind Inside captures the disturbing atmosphere of Playdead’s previous game, Limbo, but utilizes it in a different way. Where Limbo was about rather literal horrors, Inside was more of a creeping sense of unease about how the world and everything in it was just plain wrong – although that didn’t stop it having some rather gruesome moments.
Poland – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt RED
Easily one of the best sandbox games of all time, The Witcher 3 is the game that really put CD Projekt Red into the mainstream gaming conversation. There is no end to the adventures that can be had in this massive open world, with every corner of it having an interesting story to tell, earning the game a Metascore of 93.
Canada – Mass Effect 2
EA
Canada-based Bioware has made plenty of beloved games that rank highly on Metacritic, but their greatest achievement remains the score of 96 for Mass Effect 2. All three games in the original ME trilogy are beloved – and rightly so – but the second game is the one that struck the best balance between the tactical combat and the gripping sci-fi stories on offer.
Belgium – Baldur’s Gate 3
Larian Studios
The newest entry into Metacritic’s upper echelon, Baldur’s Gate 3 took the gaming world by storm in 2023, completely taking over any conversation about the best games of that year. It is the kind of RPG experience that gamers have spent years dreaming about, and we may never stop talking about it as a result – making it a well-earned score of 96.
England – GoldenEye 007
Rare
While GoldenEye 007 was published by Nintendo for the N64, it was developed by Rare in the English midlands – and who better to develop a James Bond experience, when you think about it. Anyone who played the original after its 1997 launch has fond memories of it, both as an exciting single-player shooter and a classic split-screen multiplayer mode.
USA – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
Activision
As you likely expected, the United States is one of the two biggest contributors to the video game industry although it only takes the number three spot on this list. The Tony Hawk games may not be a series thought about much these days, but they were easily some of the most enjoyable experiences in their heyday. The simplicity of cruising around hitting tricks on a skateboard appealed to just about everyone, especially as there is a high skill ceiling for true mastery of the game’s systems.
Scotland – Grand Theft Auto 4
Rockstar
While Rockstar has development studios all over the world, the main developer of their flagship series is Rockstar North, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Whether GTA 4 is still seen as the best GTA game is up for debate, but it’s the one that critics at the time loved the most, giving it a Metascore of 98.
Japan – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Nintendo
Standing alongside the USA as the biggest players in the video game industry, Japan has an incredible history of incredible video games, and Ocarina of Time is widely agreed to be their crowning achievement. Releasing in 1998 for the N64, it offered a kind of adventure never seen before in gaming – especially as the industry had only recently taken its first major steps into developing big-budget 3D games, and it remains a joyous experience to this day.
