Katarzyna Petru
Xbox and Microsoft jointly dominated the ranking of the most media-covered gaming companies in 2025, although in the individual category, Nintendo proved to be unbeatable. This is according to the annual report “Year in Numbers”, published by GamesIndustry.biz.
In the previous two years, Xbox was the undisputed leader of the “most covered companies” ranking. In 2023, the brand appeared in 308,834 articles, and in 2024 in 238,365. However, in 2025 the situation changed – Nintendo jumped to first place, recording 236,351 publications, while Xbox finished the year with a total of 218,225 articles.
Microsoft + Xbox unmatched as an ecosystem
Although Nintendo won in the individual ranking, the combined data for Xbox and Microsoft shows a completely different picture. In total, both brands appeared in as many as 346,897 articles, which definitely surpasses the result of PlayStation and Sony combined – 271,108 publications. This only confirms how strongly intertwined the topics related to Xbox consoles, Game Pass, Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft's broad strategy in the gaming and AI areas are today.
Top 15 most talked about gaming companies in 2025
Nintendo – 236,351
Xbox – 218,225
PlayStation – 184,976
Microsoft – 128,672
Sony – 86,132
Nvidia – 85,400
EA – 57,192
Ubisoft – 30,930
Epic Games – 29,804
Activision Blizzard – 23,441
Rockstar Games – 20,716
SEGA – 17,748
Twitch – 16,677
Valve – 16,598
Square Enix – 14,230
Fewer articles, but larger jumps from selected brands
The report also shows a clear shift in trends compared to 2024. Most major players recorded declines in the number of publications, including Xbox, Microsoft, PlayStation, Sony, Epic Games, Ubisoft, Valve, and Square Enix. The biggest loser was Activision Blizzard, which experienced a 34.59% decline year over year.
On the other end, Nintendo gained 30.10% more publications, primarily due to announcements and leaks related to Nintendo Switch 2. Increases were also seen by Nvidia, SEGA, Rockstar Games, and EA – the last two companies increased their media presence by over 50% year over year.
How were the articles counted?
GamesIndustry.biz notes that the data comes from the tool “ICO via Footprints”, and the methodology distinguishes publications regarding individual brands. For example, an article about Microsoft Rewards may fall into the “Microsoft” category even if it does not directly mention Xbox, and a text strictly about Xbox consoles does not have to include the name Microsoft.
In practice – as the editorial team points out – the boundaries between these brands are increasingly blurring, which only strengthens the overall media impact of the entire Xbox ecosystem.
