Top 100+ Game Development Companies in 2024

Creating a game is often a very long and challenging journey that can sometimes take even years from start to finish. Games are currently the only medium that allows us to watch, interact, influence, and exist in their worlds.

It might have crossed your mind to take on game development yourself. But, you will soon realize that making even the most straightforward game is a colossal task for one person. Completing a game that will sell requires a large integrated, synchronized team of individuals specializing in coding, UI, design, graphics, sound, and marketing. People do this daily and have planned strategies even before the project begins.

Because of the abovementioned issues, we have studios offering game development services. They are teams that serve only one purpose – successfully creating a game.

So, how do top game development studios create a game? What steps do they follow, and what does the development process look like? Let's take a closer look.

Game Development Process

Whether you are creating a mobile game or a significant AAA title, the basic principle stays the same. Here are all the steps that all top game development studios will follow to stay organized and efficient.

1. Planning

Planning is the first step in the pre-production cycle, and it is critical to define your game, how long it will take to create, how many resources and people you'll need, and how much everything will cost. In a professional environment, planning can last anywhere from one week to a year, depending on the size and complexity of the project. A good gauge to estimate how long your planning will take is – 10-20% of your estimated game development time. (So, if it is a 6-month project, planning will likely take anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks). 

2. Design

Many professional studios record what the game will look like in a "Game Design Document". The purpose of this document is to fully record the game's vision, describe the contents, ensure that team members know their roles, and map out a production plan. That said, game design documents are very long and detailed and can be time-consuming to complete from start to finish. 

Many top game development studios debate whether game design documents are even worth the effort because no matter how well you plan the game – many things will change, sometimes drastically, during the production phase. The changes can happen due to technical limitations, game mechanics not working well together, hardware or software limitations, or key developers or artists leaving mid-project. 

Because of that, many modern studios have started adopting the much smaller "Macro Design Document", born by Mark Cerny (the lead architect of PS4 and PS Vita, and designer of titles such as God of War 3, Uncharted, and Killzone 3). The macro design document is a short 1-2 page high detail document that contains only the essentials and can be expanded on during the development of the game.

3. Development

Once everything has been set and organized, it is time to start the game's development. At the same time, still in the pre-production phase, a top game design studio will focus on prototyping. Usually, we will get a rough prototype to get a core feel for what the game should look like once it is finished. These prototypes test the game mechanics, functions, and art direction. Many successful game studios have discovered that the easiest way to complete a game successfully is to prototype a lot and often. Because you can use primitive objects from the game engine or purchased stand-in assets, you can fully develop a functioning game without risking creating the entire graphics and risk losing it because a core mechanic has proven unviable.

Start of production. Production is the most extended phase of the game's development and is where team members and staff are assigned to the various roles planned out after the design and prototyping cycles. Production is focused on content, assets, and code creation. Production is where it is essential to balance creativity with time management. The production phase is best described with the following cycles:

• Vertical-slice
• Pre-alpha
• Alpha
• Beta
• Gold

Vertical-slice is a game demo that will showcase what the game will look like when finished. A vertical slice is often used to start early marketing campaigns for the game to generate momentum and an early following. It is also instrumental in determining how long the game will take to finish and the total budget.

Then, the pre-alpha stage begins. 

Pre-alpha refers to all activity performed during the game's development before official testing. This stage is where the majority of the content gets made. At this point, the artists create the characters and the environments, animators bring the characters and creatures to life with movement, designers lay out the map and levels, and the programmers bring it all together by coding all the functions and events, and interactions. 

Once all the core-game development has been created and necessary cuts have been made due to various limitations – testing begins.

4. Testing

In the testing phase, the Alpha version of the game starts. In the Alpha phase, every functionality and game mechanic is tested for bugs and ensures all the functions and elements perform as desired. Any bugs, errors, or inconsistencies are recorded in a Bug Sheet or a Bug Database.

After the Alpha phase has been finished, the game enters its Beta phase. The Beta phase is also where the entire production process stops. The game is considered content-complete, focusing on fixing all bugs and optimization before launch.

After the game passes the Beta phase, it enters the Gold phase. In the Gold stage of the game's development, all the weeks, months, or even years of hard work finally paid off. In the gold phase, the game is given to the publishers for testing, and if it is found to be acceptable, it is finally released to the public.

5. Launch

Once the fully developed game has been launched, the game development enters the post-production phase. Most marketing happens in post-production to ensure the most profit when the game is published. 

After launch, most of the people working on the game title are transferred to work on additional downloadable content or game patches. 

The game has been officially released, and this is a significant accomplishment all in itself. But the journey is still ongoing.

6. Maintenance

After the game has been released to the public, several subsequent versions or patches might be released to fix or improve the game. These actions are usually driven by how to public response to the game. Performance optimization and bug fixes are everyday things that are worked on upon the release of a game.

Two crucial phases after the game has been released and finished are – the postmortem and the closing kit. 

Postmortem is where top game development studios look at how the game was developed and at things that the game development team could have done better and more efficiently. Learning from experience is the best method to improve the game development process for the future. The main goal of a postmortem is to find out which techniques worked and didn't work during the game development process.

During post-production, it is vital to organize all sources, assets, and code into a "Closing Kit" so it is readily available for future use or reference. A closing kit is a compilation of the design documents, code, art, final game assets, music files, and everything else used to create the game.

Closing kits are essential if you plan on developing a sequel to the game or additional content, such as DLC.

Best Programming Languages for Game Development

Each top game development studio will use a programming language best suits its style.

Here are the most popular programming languages for game development today:

C++ 

It is still the number one pick of many game developers as it is a very optimized and quick programming language, and it can yield outstanding results in terms of performance. If you are developing a AAA game title or are developing for consoles, then C++ is a must. You will use it in some form.

C# 

Microsoft's answer to Java C# is an excellent object-oriented programming language that has gained much popularity due to its use in the Unity game engine.

Go

While go can be highly potent in terms of performance speed, it would require a developed game engine to create more significant games.

Haskell

Haskell is a very popular and loved language, and although it is not ideal for game development, you can create both 2D and 3D titles with it.

Java

Java is often used for Android-based mobile games or PC desktop games. It is a popular choice because of its extensive ecosystem of libraries and tools.

JavaScript

Depending on the sort of game you want to build, JavaScript is a great language choice for game creation. JavaScript is ideal for mobile and web-based gaming.

Kotlin

Inspired by Java, Kotlin tries to show a better version that is cleaner, simpler, quicker to compile, and implies a combination of object-oriented and functional programming. Kotlin is used in game development, especially Android mobile games.

MATLAB

You can use MATLAB for the development of simple game projects.

Objective – C

Objective – C is a super fast language used for mobile development and is along c/c++, and Swift is the go-to language when it comes to developing iPhone games.

Perl

Perl is often used for text manipulation and is best suited for text-based games.

R

Game development wasn't the primary purpose for creating the R programming language. With native support, however, you can use R to develop games.

Ruby

Ruby is a popular option for making 2D games. It may need to be faster for 3D games. Top-rated games such as Tetris, Pong, and Floppy Bird were developed using Ruby.

Rust

Rust is often used in the same sentence as C++ for a good reason. It is very similar in performance to C++ and is an excellent choice for developing even AAA titles.

Scala

Scala, on its own, is an excellent programming language for creating browser-based games.

Scheme

Functional programming can stumble upon a few roadblocks regarding graphics rendering. Scheme is best suited for the development of simple games.

Swift

Swift is a prevalent language, especially for developing iOS games.

TypeScript

Microsoft's answer to JavaScript – TypeScript, has gained massive popularity recently. It is speedy and easily written.

How to choose the right Game Development company for your business?

Narrow down a list of potential Game Development companies to collaborate with

Use the "Filter" option to narrow down a list of companies that have the closest to what you are trying to find. Service line and location can be essential when making this choice. Think of what type of game you want to create – is it a 2d game or perhaps a 3d game? Will it be an online or offline game? Will it be for PC or cross-platform? Maybe you want the game done in a popular game engine such as Unity or Unreal or built from scratch.

Unity Game Engine

Unity is a robust, integrated development environment designed for developing interactive 2D and 3D content. It creates software and applications for multiple platforms, including Mac OS X, iOS, Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and more. 

The unity game engine includes various purpose-built tools for creating complex real-time experiences in both 3D and 2D environments. These tools include an optimized graphical user interface (GUI), asset management, debugging, animation systems, and the multithreaded runtime engine. 

Unity's built-in scripting language provides speedier prototyping and makes it simple to design unique behaviors while enabling developers to use Unity's massive variety of features.

Unity is also very popular because of the integration of Visual Studio and the ability to code in multiple programming languages such as C# or Java.

With the ability of this engine to accommodate different platforms and styles of interaction with its robust framework, Unity could be the ultimate choice for game development.

Unreal Game Engine

The Unreal game engine is a powerful tool for developers of all platforms and sizes. It is a real-time 3D engine created by Epic Games, allowing for visually stunning worlds and experiences. 

Unreal was first released in 1998 and has been used to make iconic video games like Fortnite and Bioshock. It provides a robust suite of features, including AI control systems, an intuitive level editor, physic-based lighting capabilities, plug-in architecture support, and cloud scalability. 

Additionally, unreal supports multiple platforms such as Windows PC, Mac OSX, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. 

With its high-performance graphics output and user-friendly programming environment, it is simple to understand why the Unreal Engine has been so popular with game creators over the last two decades.

Check specializations and portfolios

Once you have narrowed down your selection, we suggest browsing and checking their portfolios for game titles the studio has done or worked on already. If you are looking to create an online MMO game, you are more likely to get a better outcome if you go with a studio with a proven track record in developing online MMOs.

Check the company's project management methodologies: Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, or Scrum

Top game development companies that use Scrum usually tend to produce work faster. Those that are looking to improve their production process use Kanban. If your project requires a linear workflow, choose a game development company that uses Waterfall.

Game development companies often use agile because of its simultaneous and incremental workflow where the development company breaks projects into smaller interactive bits – so it is very user-testing-friendly. It is also very adaptable.

Compare prices keeping your budget in mind

Think of your budget. And while it is hard to think of a number with little information and experience in game development. But luckily, you can decide later. Set up a few meetings with your top choices and let them give you a quote. 

Once you have all the necessary information, you can decide which leading game development firm to choose.

How much do Game Development companies charge for their services?

Depending on how much time the game will be in development, the number of staff required to complete it, and the company's hourly rate. Also, keep in mind that each company has a minimum project size. 

So, a little mobile game may cost you 50,000$, while a big AAA title might cost you upwards of 1,000,000$. These numbers serve only as a representation. You will not be able to see and analyze the actual cost before you have a meeting with a top game development studio in order to discuss the budget and expenses.

Conclusion

If you have no experience in coding, game art, or management but have a fantastic idea that would make an excellent game - consider working with a game development team to make this concept a reality.

If you were thinking of developing a game yourself or with a team, you have to consider not only all the costs but also the cost of opportunity. The cost of opportunity is where you take the projected time of the game's development and calculate all the money you can earn by working your job, for instance. If it will take two years to finish a game, and you are currently making about 7,000$ as a game developer – the game development will cost you at least 168,000$ plus all the expenses for the development of the actual game.

The above is the minimum cost. Now also consider marketing, which can eat a large chunk of your budget. Consider if you are hiring a publisher to do marketing for you or if you are going to do the marketing yourself. If you are doing it yourself – will you be able to do it successfully, and will you be able to manage game development and marketing simultaneously, or will it affect your performance and, in turn, the quality of the finished game?

The final factor to consider is that you are paying more than just someone to develop a game for you. What you are doing is hiring a top game development company that exists to create a game. You have the idea, and they have all the tools, the technique, the organization and logistics, and in some cases, even marketing. They will know precisely how to start and finish the game and how to deal with the problems that will occur.

Because of all these factors, we suggest finding a company that offers game development services that best suits your needs and having a meeting with them regarding your idea. After getting a clearer picture of the game's development process, you can make that decision much more quickly.

All the top game development companies are listed below. Use the filter option to narrow down the choices based on your preferences, and consider contacting them to start an exciting journey that might become your legacy.