The state of first party lineups in the industry has never been more liquid than it is now. Microsoft has gobbled up several third party publishers and seems to be going all in on Multiplatform publishing efforts, while maintaining their own console and storefront. Sony has spent the last decade building up an excellent brand of first party games under the PS Studios banner, and while they are trying to expand the range of some of their IP via porting initiatives to PC and Switch, they continue to use their games as differentiating killer apps for their consoles, lie they should be. Nintendo is, of course, the only company in the world that can get away with selling their systems off the back of pretty much their first party titles, and they maintain full stranglehold exclusivity on their games and franchises, which have been moving from strength to strength in the Switch era, critically and commercially; and Valve, the custodian of Steam, has been putting out more games in the last few years than they did in the decade immediately preceding that, with Counter-Strike 2 and Half-Life Alyx in particular signalling their intent.
Of all of these four, which is the best first party in the industry, and why?
Of all of these four, which is the best first party in the industry, and why?
