Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed creator of titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the formation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a broader pattern in the independent game sector where studios that have scored a breakout hit expand into publishing or investment to nurture other indie projects.
Recent examples include Innersloth, the developers behind Among Us, which started Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the team behind Phasmophobia, which launched Kinetic Publishing and now supports titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, known for Palworld, which has opened Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the studio behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small teams to reinvest unexpected profits back into the creative ecosystem that helped them succeed. "Successful indie games are usually built on very tight budgets," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany.
"When a title takes off, you suddenly have cash you didn’t anticipate, but you also don’t want to turn your intimate studio into a massive corporation. The logical place to put that money is into projects you understand—other indie games. That’s why many indie developers are becoming publishers." Thatgamecompany’s own journey illustrates the stakes.
When Journey launched in 2012, the project nearly bankrupted the studio and forced a wave of layoffs. The situation is dramatically different now. Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in China, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation.
The revenue generated by Sky enables Thatgamecompany to allocate funds toward what Chen describes as "emotionally ambitious" games—titles that aim to move players on a deeper level than conventional gameplay mechanics. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences.
In the era of Journey, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like PlayStation. Today, the distribution network belongs to the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth promoters. A successful indie title can amass millions of players who become its most effective marketing engine, often surpassing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in terms of reach. Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile.
Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender reach than many competitors. "If we highlight a game that appeals equally to men and women, we tap into a unique overlap," Chen says, adding that many of their users are newcomers to gaming, which expands the potential audience for any new title they support. While specific projects under Thatgamepublisher remain under wraps, Chen outlined the publisher’s philosophy in a press release: "When we first started making games, many questioned whether interactive experiences could affect players as profoundly 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. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways. 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 studio is searching for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary concerns. "We are open to any team, any stage of development, even prototypes, as long as the experience strives for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to get there," Xue explained.
According to Xue, "emotional" can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy. The key question is whether the experience lingers after the console is turned off. If a game can achieve that lingering resonance, Thatgamepublisher wants to start a conversation.
Most indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, but Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors. "We are flexible regarding funding and project scale," Xue said. "We can work with solo creators who have immense creativity as well as larger teams pursuing AA‑level budgets." Deal terms, such as revenue share, will be tailored to each project's needs.
Xue stressed that, as developers themselves, they understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that give teams the resources to realize the strongest version of their game. Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, 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, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now pick and choose the services they need—whether it’s marketing, console porting, or funding. Xue echoed this flexibility, noting that Thatgamepublisher can tailor its involvement to each developer’s requirements, providing modular support for funding, marketing, or other specific needs.
However, for projects with an emotional ambition, he believes a more integrated partnership often yields the best results. "Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are deeply interconnected for emotionally driven games. Being involved across those areas lets us protect the game's emotional core and help the team carry that vision to players," he said.
Ultimately, the publisher aims to meet each project where it is and shape the partnership around what will be most useful. Xue highlighted the company’s founding belief that games can connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity. "That belief has shaped everything we’ve made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
But we also know this journey is bigger than a single studio. Creators worldwide are exploring new ways to make players feel, and we want to help those ideas reach an audience," he concluded. He added that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook. The heart of a project may not be obvious at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Thatgamepublisher’s role is to safeguard that process, offering room, guidance, and alignment so developers can discover the strongest version of their work. Drawing on the experience of operating Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamepublisher believes it understands how to scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their meaning. By grasping each game's emotional truth, building from its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher aims to help every project reach farther while staying true to the feeling at its heart.