Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely‑celebrated Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the formation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move aligns with a broader pattern in the indie sector where studios that have scored a breakout hit expand into publishing or financing to nurture other independent developers.
Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing with a slate that features Precognition, a new project from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which introduced Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which now operates under the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among successful indie teams to reinvest surplus earnings back into the ecosystem that helped them grow.
"This is a very common pattern because number one, successful indie games usually are on a shoestring, and if the game becomes very successful, suddenly you have an overflow of cash," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "But then you are a small team making games, you don't want to suddenly become a thousands‑person company, right?
And then you can't really spend the money, so with additional money, where can you invest? You want to invest in something you understand, something you really are familiar with. So investing into other indie games is a natural choice for everyone, and that's why many indie companies are doing that." When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was far from flush with cash.
Chen told GamesIndustry.biz that the project nearly drove the company to bankruptcy and forced a massive layoff. The situation is dramatically different today. Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global hit—especially in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature film.
The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach players. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform owners like Sony. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says.
A successful indie title can now amass millions of players who act as organic promoters, providing a distribution reach that rivals traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition. Chen points out that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender reach than most developers.
"If we promote a game that appeals to both men and women, our audience has a unique overlap, because many of our players have never played games before," he explains. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher's philosophy: "When we first began making games, many people questioned whether interactive experiences could move players as deeply as film, literature or music.
Over the years, games have shown us what impact they can have on people. Lifelong friendships formed. Personal struggles healed.
Loved ones reconnected. Hope restored. Those moments convinced us that games are capable of touching lives in profound ways. Thatgamepublisher exists because we believe there are countless creators around the world discovering new emotional frontiers for this medium, 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 hunting for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size will not be limiting factors.
"We are open to teams of any size, projects at any stage, and ideas still being prototyped. What matters is not the label, genre, scale, or format, but whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to take players there," Xue said. According to Xue, emotional impact can take many forms—joy, chaos, humor—but the common thread is lasting resonance: "Will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors.
"We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue explained. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." Deal terms will be customized per project, reflecting the studio's own experience as developers. Xue highlighted the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that give teams the resources they need to realize the strongest version of their game. Thatgamepublisher will operate 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 approach. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive observed that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that modern developers prefer to pick and choose services—whether marketing, console conversion assistance, or full‑scale support. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can tailor its involvement: "We can be flexible depending on what a developer and project needs, including modular arrangements around funding, marketing, or other specific support. That being said, we believe the kinds of games we want to work with often benefit from a more integrated partnership.
For emotionally ambitious projects, creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are often deeply interconnected. Being involved across those areas allows us to bring the most value, protect the emotional core of the game, and help the team carry that vision all the way to players." The overarching rationale for developers to join Thatgamepublisher, Xue says, is rooted in the company's founding belief: games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. "That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky: Children of the Light. But we also know this path is bigger than the work of one studio.
Around the world, creators are exploring their own ways to expand what games can make people feel, and we want to help those ideas find their way to players." He added that emotionally ambitious games often require a different playbook, one that allows the heart of a project to emerge through prototyping, iteration, and quiet discovery. "Our role is to protect that process, giving developers the room, guidance, and alignment they need to discover the strongest version of their work. By understanding the emotional truth of each game, building from its players and community, and allowing genuine resonance to create scale over time, we aim to help every project reach farther while staying true to the feeling at its heart."