Alongside our Game of the Year top 10 list and personal picks from the Push Square editorial team, we are recognising the best PS5 games of 2025 in select categories. Today is the turn of the best PS5 developer of 2025.
Trails developer Nihon Falcom always seems to be pumping out a new entry in the franchise every five or six months or so, whether that’s a new entry, a localised port, or a remake. However, in 2025, it finally gave so many potential new fans the perfect jumping-on point: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. This masterfully brought back the original tale, attracting veterans and newcomers alike.
The best part is, though, the team had already pleased the former crowd earlier in the year with Trails through Daybreak 2. The studio is now admirably fighting on two fronts: it’s satisfying its core fanbase while also getting newcomers up to speed.
For a good while there, Ni no Kuni developer Level-5 lost its way. However, 2025 marked a strong return to form for the studio, as it launched the very popular RPG Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and brought Inazuma Eleven to PlayStation for the first time, offering a strong anime twist on football.
The future looks bright for the company, too, as it also has DECAPOLICE on its books. For now, though, 2025 represents the beginning of Level 5’s comeback story.
The multiplayer community has known — and been quietly excited — about ARC Raiders for years now. The promise of an accessible extraction shooter came with a good degree of promise, and as Embark Studios launched the online title earlier this year, its popularity skyrocketed. ARC Raiders is now one of the most played multiplayer games of 2025, all thanks to the overwhelming quality of the experience it has to offer.
It launched in tip-top shape, has been well supported in the months since, and is addressing any player issues quickly. Embark Studios managed all while continuing to support its other multiplayer shooter, The Finals. While it’s not as popular, seasonal content updates have continued throughout the development of ARC Raiders, and after it. The team now offers two of the strongest online games on the market.
Sandfall Interactive made a Game of the Year winner with its first game as a studio. Is there anything else that needs to be said?
Probably nothing you haven’t already read before in the many months since its big breakout release, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 put Sandfall Interactive on the map, and the community and excitement that’s built up around the game since has made it a household name in record time. You won’t just hope the next Sandfall Interactive game will be any good; you’ll know it will be.
Because of that, the team will never be able to do another release like it — everyone knows about the French studio now. However, in 2025, it’s been the talk of the town, and it deserves it, having made one of the PS5’s best RPGs.
Do you agree with our picks for the best PS5 developer of 2025? Share your thoughts in the comments below and check out more of our Game of the Year coverage through the link.
What was your favourite PS5 Developer of 2025? (223 votes)
AdHoc Studio1%Embark Studios5%Epic Games 0%Kojima Productions25%Level-55%Neobards Entertainment2%Nihon Falcom9%Sandfall Interactive26%Sucker Punch Productions20%Other (let us know in the comments!)6%