Nintendo Officially Ahead Of Xbox And PlayStation With Metacritic Average Of 80

Nintendo Games Are Reviewing Better Than PlayStation And Xbox In 2026 Published Oct 2, 2026, 8:23 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life 3, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com Sign in to your TheGamer account 2026 is drawing to a close, and Nintendo is on top when it comes to first-party games so far, with an average review score of 80.33. Xbox and PlayStation are coincidentally tied, trailing just behind at 77.5. For full disclosure, to work out these averages, we've counted games published and funded by the platform holder, or developed by a studio it owns. We've excluded ports, remasters, and DLC, though remakes such as Star Fox have been included. That's why titles like Ghost of Yotei — Complete Edition and Avowed aren't included, while Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and Towerborne are. Nintendo, PlayStation, And Xbox Average Review Score 2026 Publisher Game Metacritic Score Nintendo Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave 89 Pokémon Pokopia 89 Rhythm Heaven Groove 82 Splatoon Raiders 82 Star Fox 81 Yoshi and the Mysterious Book 80 Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream 77 Mario Tennis Fever 76 Pokémon Champions 67 80.33 PlayStation Saros 87 Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls 85 Marathon 81 Marvel's Wolverine 75 MLB The Show 26 73 God of War: Sons of Sparta 64 77.5 Xbox Forza Horizon 6 90 Gears of War: E-Day 86 Halo: Campaign Evolved 80 Towerborne 73 Minecraft Dungeons 2 70 Kiln 66 77.5 This table also throws up some interesting stats. Putting aside averages, Nintendo has six games with a review score of 80+, whereas PlayStation and Xbox have just three each. However, while Xbox might be tied for second-place, it has the highest-rated game of the year with Forza Horizon 6, while PlayStation has the lowest-rated with God of War: Sons of Sparta. Nintendo also has the most first-party releases this year with nine games, compared to six for PlayStation and Xbox. Though it's worth noting that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is set to push Xbox's total to seven when it launches on October 23. Overall, the average review score for the three console giants combined this year is 79, which places 2026 in Metacritic's "generally favorable" range right now. That also highlights just how narrow the gap between the three platform holders is, with all three averaging above 75.