What was the best gaming company in 2016? GamesBeat Decides

With so many amazing games in 2016, we thought it was time to recognize the publishers and the studios that made the year so excellent in the latest episode of our podcast.

As part of the ongoing GB Rewind 2016 series, the GamesBeat Decides podcast is ready to choose the best gaming company of the year. Of course, we wish it was easier to recognize the individual creators of these games, but the industry still makes it difficult to do that by hiding producers, directors, coders, and writers behind a layer of PR. But, for now, we’ll have to settle on awarding our faceless corporate overlords at Activision, Electronic Arts, and Devolver Digital … OK. I’d actually be into a dystopian oligarchical society run by that last company.

Listen to the GamesBeat Decide podcast pick the best gaming company of 2016, or scroll down to see for yourself:

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The best gaming company of 2016 is … Blizzard

Blizzard is legendary — and that’s not just because global warming will eventually turn the idea of heavy snow storms into something out of mythology.

With Overwatch, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, World of Warcraft, and Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard had some of the best new games and some of the best-supported living games in the world in 2016. When it launched Overwatch in May, the company (which is technically a part of Activision, but we considered as its own unit) once again proved that no one makes a game more appealing and understandable than Blizzard.

Overwatch’s art and characters are gorgeous and interesting. And the way the game animates, sounds, and moves makes it so easy to learn the intricacies of those heroes. That translates to the shooter’s esports scene, where even the most novice players can tune in, see a play, and completely grasp why it is amazing.

On top of Overwatch, getting one of the best expansions ever for World of Warcraft and continuing support for Hearthstone shows how Blizzard isn’t just great at onboarding. It is potentially unmatched in content creation from launching a game through possibly 10 years of service or more.