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Are you one of the world's best game creators?

Nominations open for the 2021 PocketGamer.biz Top 50 Game Makers

Are you one of the world's best game creators?

Nominations are now open for the 2021 PocketGamer.biz Top 50 Game Makers list.

Each year, the PocketGamer.biz Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list is a guide to the movers and shakers in the global games industry's most vibrant sector. This year will be the 12th time we have published our ranking, with places being more hotly contested than ever. So we're actively looking for your help and input.

We're now looking back over the last few months and deciding which mobile game makers we believe deserve to be in the spotlight. While we already have our eyes on several key companies, it's such a vibrant and rapidly evolving sector, there's always something new out there.

With so many developers and publishers in every region, sorting the wheat from the chaff takes time, and we're happy to receive suggestions - which is why we're asking you to nominate your company and give us some extra details to consider as we put the list together.

The entry and judging criteria can be found at the bottom of this post.

Nominations are open until 17:00 (UK time) on July 30th, 2021.

Criteria

Every year the PocketGamer.biz team gets together to create our list of studios we believe are the world's best, taking into consideration criteria such as:

  • Financial performance over the last 12 months
  • Quality and quantity of new games released
  • Notable innovation or impact on the industry
  • The cultural impact made or news generated
  • Future potential

More than numbers

Final placement in the Top 50 list is an editorial decision. Although studio success is a factor, the list is not mathematically calculated from sales or corporate value but rather it's about the studios our editors and guest advisors believe have a particularly significant story to tell.

Of course, it helps if a company has had a successful release in the past year, but the Top 50 is an industry guide to the studios we believe warrant special attention. This could be down to how much discussion is surrounding a studio, its focus on innovation or disruption in the sector, and/or its future potential.

When you consider how many games are released globally in any year, inclusion on the final list is a mark of respect for any company that makes it.

Who's eligible?

The PocketGamer.biz Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list covers development studios of any size and publishers who bring those games to the players. It is not for tool providers, engine makers, ad networks or other middleware companies or vendors. This is about people who make and release games.

You can see last year's list here.

Submit your company now

Nominations are open until 17:00 (UK Time) on July 30th, 2021.

Submit your company below and we'll be sure to consider them. Then check back on PocketGamer.biz in September 2021 to see if you made the list.


Managing Editor

Brian has been working in the games industry since the mid-1990s, when he joined the legendary studio DMA Design, as a writer on the original Grand Theft Auto. Since then he's worked with major publishers, founded his own digital agency, helped numerous startups with PR, marketing, communications, narrative design, branding and making money.

Back in 2004 Brian created the Scottish Games Network, the industry body for the country's videogames sector. He also lectures at Napier University on the transformative power of interactive media on the creative industries, is a board member of Creative Edinburgh, and helps to organise games, tech and creative industries events.

In his spare time he plays videogames and is usually, proudly, at least one generation behind the cutting edge consoles.