Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the formation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern in the indie sector where studios that have scored a breakout success expand into publishing or funding roles to nurture other independent developers. Examples of this trend include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which started Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which launched Kinetic Publishing and is already supporting titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which now runs Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label.
The common thread among these initiatives is the desire to reinvest surplus revenue from a hit title back into the indie ecosystem. "Successful indie games are usually built on a shoestring budget," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "When a game suddenly becomes a massive hit, you end up with a lot of cash but a small team that doesn't want to balloon into a huge corporation.
The logical place to put that money is into projects you understand and care about – other indie games. That's why many indie studios are turning into publishers." Thatgamecompany's own history illustrates why this strategy makes sense. When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was on the brink of financial collapse, and Chen has recounted that the project almost bankrupted the company, leading to a wave of layoffs. The situation is dramatically different today.
Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in China, and has even inspired a feature film. The game has generated enough profit for Thatgamecompany to consider allocating resources toward what Chen describes as "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also notes that the distribution landscape has shifted.
In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the primary channels for reaching players. Now, the distribution network is effectively owned by the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth marketers.
A successful indie title can quickly amass millions of fans, and those fans become the strongest promotional engine. "If your audience loves a certain style of game, they will actively seek out similar experiences," Chen says. "That gives indie studios a distribution reach that can rival traditional media outlets." Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile.
Roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a larger female audience than most game companies worldwide. Chen believes this creates a unique overlap when promoting titles that appeal to both men and women, especially those who may be new to gaming.
While Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, the specifics remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher's mission: "When we first started making games, many questioned whether interactive experiences could move players as deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years, games have proven they can forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope. Thatgamepublisher exists because we believe countless creators worldwide are exploring new emotional frontiers, and we want to help them bring those visions to life." SJ Xue, Thatgamecompany's vice‑president of growth and corporate development and the leader of the publishing effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the team is looking for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary concerns.
"What matters is whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to take players there," Xue said. "'Emotional' can be joyful, chaotic, even funny.
The key question is: will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game aims for that, we want to talk." Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑$1 million budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to fund larger, AA‑level projects. Xue explained that the publisher's flexibility allows it to work with solo creators possessing immense creativity as well as larger teams needing more substantial financial backing.
The terms of each deal—such as revenue share and recoupment—will be tailored to the project's specific needs, reflecting the studio's own experience as developers who value fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships. Thatgamepublisher is positioned as a full‑service publisher, offering not only funding but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some newer indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only model. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive observed that the "old school" publishing model is dying, with developers now able to pick and choose services—marketing, console ports, funding, or all of the above—based on their needs.
Xue echoed this sentiment, stating that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements or more integrated support when a project benefits from a holistic partnership. The overarching philosophy behind the venture is simple: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity.
Chen summed it up, noting that this belief has guided everything Thatgamecompany has produced—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. He added that while the studio's own titles have demonstrated the potential of emotionally driven games, the medium's future belongs to a broader community of creators. By offering resources, infrastructure, and a caring publishing approach, Thatgamepublisher aims to help these creators protect the emotional core of their work and deliver it to a worldwide audience without diluting its impact.