Revealed: The most successful studios in the world

The Develop 100, our annual list of the world’s most profitable game studios, is published today.

Published in association with Deep Silver and based on data compiled by GfK Chart-Track, the Develop 100 is the only guide of its type, ranking the world’s games developers based on the amount of money their games made at UK retail, one of the largest software markets in the world.

Physical copies of the book arrive today with readers of Develop and select readers of our sister magazine MCV.

But plenty of data and analysis has also gone live here on develop-online.net and the dedicated microsite develop100.com.

The digital edition of the book can be found here on Issuu.com while you can also click here for the list itself.

Profiles of the top 10 studios can be found here, and we’ve also got profiles of positions 11-30, 31-50, and 51-100.

Sponsor Deep Silver also discusses the challenges developers face in the modern age and why a list like the Develop 100 is important.

We’ve also got an in-depth look at the data behind the list, written by GfK Chart-Track’s Dorian Bloch.

But to get you started, here’s the topline details from the list, which proves why the Develop 100 is still one of the games industry’s must-read publications:

Nintendo takes the lucrative top spot, with a stately 2009 UK revenue of £203.63m. Right behind it, in what could potentially be the studio’s last hurrah, sit troubled US team Infinity Ward with a figure of £125.58m. Third place goes to EA Canada with £100.99m.

In terms of national representation on the list, the USA make up 40 per cent of studios present, the UK 24 per cent, Japan 16 per cent and Canada nine per cent.

The representation figure for the UK is in vast contrast to its combined national profit figure of £208.7m, which puts it in fourth place overall. The USA is first with £484.78m, Japan second with £415.22m (just under half of which is contributed by Nintendo), and Canada is third with £215.62m.

Other entries of note include relatively-unknown Polish studio Techland at number 58, who made £5.59m last year. Several now-defunct firms also make the list, including Midway Newcastle at number 90 with a figure of £3.48m.

The international financial difficulties that began in 2007 seem to have had little effect on the growth of games profits. Nintendo’s first place in 2008 was gained with a profit of £129.83m, meaning they have experienced a profit growth of around £70m since then. This trend continues – though of course in increasingly smaller amounts – straight through the 2010 results.