Edge Online has published its annual list of the industry's "hot" developers, a hundred men and women whose names you should know. Topping the list is Rockstar Games co-founder and VP of Creative Dan Houser.
Houser beats out Nintendo's Hideki Konno and Shigeru Miyamoto, both of whom placed in the top ten alongside industry movers and shakers Mark Healey from Media Molecule, Jun Takeuchi from Capcom and Rod Humble of EA's Sims label.
How does Edge quantify "hot"?
It says the primary factor in determining who's hot and who's not is, bluntly, market success. Houser obviously had a good year, market success-wise with Grand Theft Auto IV.
"Critical reception and contributions to the art and craft of development are also weighed heavily" notes edge, which might explain why some developers associated with better selling products have had to give up the top spot to Mr. Houser. (He placed #9 on the list, with BioShock lead Ken Levine securing #1 on last year's list.)
There are plenty of faces that you should be familiar with on the list if you want to appear informed at your next video game cocktail party.
The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2009 [Edge Online]