Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed creator of 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 among successful independent studios that, after scoring a breakout hit, choose to leverage their newfound resources by supporting other indie developers. Notable examples include Innersloth, the minds behind Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the team behind Phasmophobia, which introduced Kinetic Publishing with titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which now operates Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the creators of Peak, which started the Evil Landfall label. The trend underscores a shift in the industry where small studios, once constrained by limited budgets, are now able to become patrons of the indie ecosystem.
“Successful indie games are usually built on shoestring budgets,” explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. “When a title takes off, you suddenly have a surplus of cash, but you don’t want to balloon into a massive corporation. Instead, you look for ways to invest that money in areas you understand—namely, other indie projects. It’s a natural progression for many indie teams.” Thatgamecompany’s own journey illustrates the stakes involved.
When Journey launched in 2012, the studio nearly went bankrupt, resulting in a wave of layoffs. Chen recalled to GamesIndustry.biz that the financial strain was severe. However, the release of Sky: Children of the Light in 2019 dramatically altered the company’s fortunes.
The game achieved massive global popularity, especially in China, and even inspired a feature film. The revenue generated from Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate funds toward what it calls “emotionally ambitious games,” projects that aim to touch players on a deeper, more personal level. Chen also notes a fundamental shift in how games reach audiences.
In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like PlayStation. Today, the distribution network is effectively owned by the players themselves, many of whom act as influencers. A successful indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who become organic promoters, often surpassing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in terms of reach. “If you have an audience that loves a certain style of game, they’ll actively seek out similar experiences,” Chen says.
“That gives indie studios a distribution advantage that didn’t exist a decade ago.” Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many of its peers. Chen believes this unique audience overlap can be leveraged to promote games that appeal to both men and women, especially those who are new to gaming. While the exact slate of titles under Thatgamepublisher remains under wraps, Chen shared the publisher’s overarching philosophy in a press release: “When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move people as profoundly as film, literature, or music.
Over the years, we’ve seen games forge lifelong friendships, help heal personal struggles, reunite loved ones, and restore hope. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways. Thatgamepublisher exists to support creators worldwide who are exploring new emotional frontiers for the medium.” SJ Xue, Thatgamecompany’s vice president of growth and corporate development and the leader of the publishing initiative, elaborated on the type of projects the studio is seeking. He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is the game’s capacity to evoke lasting emotion.
“Emotional can mean joyful, chaotic, even humorous,” Xue explained. “The key question is: will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If the answer is yes, we want to talk.” Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑$1 million budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑scale endeavors. Xue described the publishing model as highly flexible, accommodating solo creators with visionary ideas as well as larger teams requiring substantial funding.
Contract terms, such as revenue share and recoupment percentages, will be tailored to each project’s needs. “As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships,” he said.
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 other indie publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a funding‑only or modular approach. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive observed that “the old‑school publishing model is dead,” and modern developers prefer to pick and choose services—whether it’s marketing, console porting, or funding—that best suit their needs.
Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements, but for projects with an emotional core, a more integrated partnership is often beneficial. He explained that creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community engagement, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven for emotionally driven games.
By staying involved across these areas, the publisher can protect the game’s emotional essence and help the team deliver that vision to players. The company’s motivation for developers to join Thatgamepublisher stems from its founding belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
Chen reflected that this ethos has guided every title the studio has released—from Flow’s meditative flow to Flower’s poetic interaction, Journey’s narrative intimacy, and Sky’s communal exploration. He added that while Thatgamecompany has proven this philosophy works, the potential for emotional storytelling extends far beyond a single studio. “Around the world, creators are pushing the boundaries of what games can make us feel, and we want to help those ideas reach players,” Chen said. According to Xue, emotionally ambitious projects often require a distinct development playbook.
The heart of a game may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototyping, iterative design, quiet discoveries, and collaborative conversations. Thatgamepublisher’s role is to safeguard that process, providing developers with space, guidance, and alignment to uncover the strongest version of their work.
Drawing on its experience running 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 impact. By focusing on the emotional truth of each game, building from its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher aims to help every project expand its reach while staying true to its core feeling.
In summary, Thatgamepublisher represents Thatgamecompany’s evolution from a solitary indie studio into a supportive hub for other creators seeking to craft games that move players on an emotional level. With flexible funding, full‑service support, and a clear commitment to preserving the heartfelt essence of each title, the new publishing arm is poised to become a significant catalyst for the next generation of emotionally resonant indie games.