First-Party vs Third-Party Games: Definitive Guide

First-Party Games

Developed AND published by the platform holder.

• Xbox (Xbox Game Studios): Halo, Forza Horizon, Gears of War, Starfield, Hellblade II.
• PlayStation (SIE / PlayStation Studios): God of War, Spider-Man, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo, Horizon.
• Nintendo (Nintendo EPD / Partners): Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Metroid.

Third-Party Games

Developed by independent studios, published by them or separate publishers.

• Multi-Platform: Call of Duty (Activision), FIFA/FC (EA), Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft), Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco).
• Timed/Console Exclusives (Third-Party): Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix, timed PS), Deathloop (Arkane/Bethesda, timed PS), Rise of the Ronin (Team Ninja/SIE — published by Sony but dev is third-party).

Why It Matters

• Exclusivity Leverage: First-party = system seller — drives hardware adoption.
• Quality Control: Platform holder directs resources, tech sharing (Decima, Slipspace, Nintendo SDK).
• Long-Term Support: First-party titles get decade+ updates (GT7, FH5, Splatoon 3).
• Revenue Share: First-party = 100% platform revenue; Third-party = 70/30 split.

Blurry Lines

• Second-Party: Independent dev, exclusive contract (Insomniac→Sony pre-acquisition, Game Freak→Nintendo).
• Acquisitions: Bethesda (now first-party Xbox), Bungie (first-party Sony but multi-platform), Activision (pending/first-party Xbox).

First-party = platform identity. Third-party = industry breadth.