Most successful video game companies in Maryland

The United States is the gaming capital of the world, with about 1,400 companies that develop or publish games, and, obviously, there are many game companies in Maryland. Despite the fact that this state is not a leader in terms of numbers, several of the largest game development companies can be found here. Some of them have developed projects that have become iconic and promoted the industry in a particular genre - we will talk about the TOP 5 Maryland video games companies in Maryland.

Table of Contents

Briefly about TOP-5 video game companies in Maryland

Unfortunately, in our cruel capitalist world, it is quite difficult to arrange certain companies in any particular order. You can make a top based on personal preferences, but this will be a bit wrong, so companies will be ranked in this top based on their revenue - the amount of money they were able to earn in a year selling games, related merch, and so on. Do not forget that the information about Maryland game companies is current as of January 2023!

#5 - Big Huge Games

BigHuge Games is a video game company in Maryland that was founded in 2000 in Timonium. The company does not have the largest list of games they have developed, but there are some extremely well-known titles among them. In addition, this company has developed games for both PC and consoles, as well as mobile devices.

Among the most recognizable titles:

Rise of Nations - classic RTS like Age of Empires and Cossacks. It is necessary to develop, build buildings and destroy opponents.
Kingdoms of Amalur - Reckoning - A third-person RPG. The plot is not too original - the chosen one must save the world. The game stands out with an interesting class-less character development system, an unusual set of weapons, and quite picturesque locations.
DomiNations - MMO-RTS for mobile devices. The game is somewhat similar to Clash of Clans and essentially repeats its gameplay.

Among the interesting facts - the company was founded by Brian Reynolds, a legend in the world of RTS and co-founder of Fyraxis, and for most of its history he was its owner. The company is currently a subsidiary of Nexon. Estimated revenue - 12.3 million dollars.

#4 - BreakAway Games

This gaming company in Maryland was founded in 1998 by veterans of such companies as MicroProse, Origin Systems, Atari, Acclaim Entertainment. The golden age of the company has already passed, but it has created or participated in the creation of some extremely iconic and beloved projects.

Among them:

Sid Meier's Antietam! - a wargame created by the legendary Sid Meier, is the sequel to Sid Meier's Gettysburg!
Commissioned by EA Los Angeles, the company developed several add-ons for The Rise of the Witch-king and The Battle for Middle-Earth 2.
Developed Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath in collaboration with other companies. These RTS are considered the last worthy projects in the series, and are still loved by fans, as evidenced by regularly held tournaments from different communities of RTS fans.

The company is currently developing Pulse!! - a special educational simulator for doctors, in collaboration with Texas A&M University. Currently, the company is going through a tough time, but maybe it will develop something that will return its glory? Estimated revenue - 12.8 million dollars.

#3 - Firaxis Games

One of the most iconic gaming companies in Maryland was founded by Jeff Briggs, Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier in 1996.

The most significant projects of the studio include:

The Civilization series of games - from the very first games of the 1990s to the latest game in the series - Sid Meier's Civilization 6. These games are 4X strategy games in which you have to build new cities, develop technologies, culture and religion, and conquer other civilizations with your influence or iron.
XCOM game series - a series of turn-based strategy games with RPG and management elements. In this game, you are the head of a secret international company - XCOM, which was founded after the first reports and evidence of the existence of alien life. One day, this very life invades the Earth, and your task is to stop them. By any means and methods. The main thing to remember is that you cannot save everyone, and some countries will have to be sacrificed. There is also one third-person shooter among this RTS series - XCOM Bureau Declassified.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is a tactical RPG released in 2022 in collaboration with Marvel Games. Based on the comic book series "Rise of the Midnight Sons", the game does not retell the comic book series, but has its own unique storyline.

The company continues to do what it does best - create iconic strategy games, although the latest releases of the XCOM and Civilization series are not of the highest quality and old fans of the series are disappointed. But if you like these games, does it matter what other people think? Estimated revenue - 52 million dollars, which makes it one of the most influential game developers in Maryland. Since 2005, the company has been owned by 2K, which is the publisher of all games.

Bethesda, ZeniMax and Microsoft

Our top is suddenly interrupted. What follows next requires a separate explanation. It is here that you will learn about the first and second places of the top and also about what Microsoft has to do with it (spoiler - Microsoft bought everyone and everything...again).

Bethesda game studios: video games development in Maryland

This video game company, Maryland, was founded in 1986 by Christopher Weaver and has been a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media since 1999. During its existence and until the present day, the company has given gamers some of the most iconic games in history:

The Elder Scrolls series - a series of RPG games with a huge world and deep lore, which is not inferior to the most developed fantasy worlds. By the way, have you bought Skyrim again this year? If not - Todd Howard is very disappointed.
Fallout game series - no less legendary series of RPG games about the Chosen One from the Vault.
Dishonored series - a game in which your choices and your actions are directly reflected in the game world.
Wolfenstein series - a series of shooters on the topic "what if Germany had won World War 2?". Your task is to interfere and take revenge.

Such games like Rage, Star Trek, Doom, The Evil Within, Prey and many others - were developed in collaboration with other companies owned by ZeniMax. At the moment, the company is developing Redfall and Starfield - which should be released soon. Estimated revenue - 333 million dollars, making this company the second on our list and the richest company that makes games in Baltimore, MD.

ZeniMax Media and Microsoft

The first place is occupied by ZeniMax Media, which is the owner of Bethesda. This video game company in Maryland was founded in 1999, and does not make games by itself, but publishes games created by subsidiaries.