First and foremost are the scores of game development companies who actually make games. Game development companies should not be confused with software publishers. Generally, with a few notable exceptions, start-up game developers do not publish their own games. More often than not, developers try to strike a deal with a publisher. Not all game developers are independent.
Some publishers have in-house development studios.
For example, Total Annihilation's developer, Cavedog, is an in-house development studio owned by publisher GT Interactive. On the other hand, Ensemble, the developer of my favorite game, Age of Empires, is an independent studio that has a publishing contract with publishing behemoth Microsoft. Likewise, not all game developers seek publishing contracts. Some developers, like Bungie Software, the developer of CGW's 1997 Strategy Game of the Year, Myth, publish their own games. Inc. All rights reserved.