United States

The United States (formally The United States of America, often abbreviated as US or USA, or simply referred to as America) is a country in North America that has had one of the largest impacts on gaming and video gaming history. It is a federal republic composed of fifty states, one federal district, and several unincorporated territories, such as American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico. The political and federal capital of the United States is located in Washington, D.C., although each state also has its own capital.

The United States uses the ESRB for video game ratings. Unlike other institutions, such as PEGI and the BBFC, the ESRB is a voluntary rating system with no legal power; instead, retailers self-regulate the sale of video games based on the ESRB's assigned rating. Many retailers refuse to sell video games that are assigned the Adults Only rating by the ESRB, and this, in turn, has influenced video game development.

US-based publishers/developers/studios

 * 14 Degrees East (Star Trek franchise)
 * Activision (Call of Duty & Star Trek franchises)
 * Activision Blizzard
 * Bethesda Softworks (DOOM series, The Elder Scrolls series, Fallout series, Star Trek franchise)
 * Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo series, Overwatch series, StarCraft series, Warcraft franchise)
 * Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires series)
 * Epic Games (Unreal franchise)
 * Interplay Entertainment (Descent series, Fallout series, Freespace series & Star Trek franchise)
 * id Software (DOOM series)
 * Ion Storm (Deus Ex series)
 * Electronic Arts (Battlefield series, Command & Conquer franchise, Dead Space series, Dragon Age series, SimCity series, The Sims series
 * NovaLogic (F-16 Multirole Fighter, F-22 Raptor, MiG-29 Fulcrum)
 * Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords)
 * Origin Systems (Ultima & Wing Commander series)
 * Westwood Studios (Command & Conquer franchise)