Blizzard, the inventor of World of Warcraft, is the world's most successful games creator, according to a new study.

The online role playing game has 10 million users globally and the firm's profits top $1.34 billion yearly.

Nintendo won 2nd place, Rockstar North,wow gold manufacturers of Grand Theft Auto, was third and Capcom fifth.

The numbers were collected by Develop magazine and pulled from sales data, reviews and standing within the gaming industry.

Develop's editor-in-chief Michael French stated: "World of Warcraft has... truly penetrated pop culture, inspiring everything from web memes to episodes of The Simpsons,wow gold showing Blizzard's ability to not only create compelling experiences but also court user expectations."

Rounding out the Top 100 list include Tales, creator of the Lego games, and Media Molecule, which is behind the game LittleBigPlanet. Peter Molyneux's Lionhead, who has created the Fable games, is 22nd.

Twelve different studios possessed by Electronic Arts, the second largest games publisher worldwide are on the list. Treyarch and Infinity Ward,wow gold the creators of the Call of Duty video games, are 7th and 8th.