MTV Games

MTV Games at a Glance

MTV Games operated as a publishing division for MTV Networks between 2007 and 2011. Founded in 2006, the company released fourteen titles on PlayPile but never developed software directly. Instead, they relied entirely on external studios to build their catalog. Their output was heavily concentrated in the music genre with thirteen of their fourteen games falling into that category. They also published a single simulator and one racing title during their short existence. The publisher focused almost exclusively on console hardware from the mid-2000s era. Their library shows eleven Xbox 360 titles and eleven Wii releases, followed by ten PlayStation 3 games and seven for the PlayStation 2. They also had a small presence on PlayStation Portable, PC, and iOS with only one game each. This platform strategy aligns with their active period of 2007 to 2011. Most of their work came in the 2000s decade where they released ten games, while the 2010s saw just three releases before the division closed. Quality varied across their portfolio but leaned toward high praise for their flagship franchise. The average rating across nine reviewed titles sits at 78.9 out of 100. Six of these titles received great scores above 80, while two were rated good between 60 and 79. One title fell into the mixed range, and none were poor. Their top-rated games include Rock Band 2 with an 89.8 score, The Beatles: Rock Band at 86.7, and several track packs that scored 85. Rock Band 3 also performed well with an 84.8 rating in late 2010. The company acquired Harmonix Music Systems to fuel this lineup. They used the studio to create the Rock Band series which added drums and microphones to the gameplay loop. This approach competed directly with Activision's Guitar Hero franchise. Despite strong critical reception for their major releases, the music game market crashed in 2010. Viacom sold Harmonix back to its founders in December of that year. MTV Games released Dance Central for Kinect as their final title in November 2010. The division and its European counterpart shut down completely in February 2011 after losing their primary development partner.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution