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 mirrors a growing pattern in the indie sector where studios that have scored a breakout success expand into publishing or financing to nurture other independent projects. In 2024, Innersloth, the creators of the viral phenomenon Among Us, established Outersloth, backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, launched Kinetic Publishing, which already lists Sam Barlow’s latest venture Precognition among its slate.
Pocketpair, the developers of Palworld, introduced Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the studio behind Peak, started the Evil Landfall label. The trend underscores how a sudden influx of revenue can prompt small teams to look beyond their own development pipelines and support peers in the ecosystem. "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." The financial landscape was far less forgiving when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted that the project's development nearly bankrupted the studio, leading to a wave of layoffs.
In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has generated massive revenue, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. Those profits now give Thatgamecompany the runway to back what it calls "emotionally ambitious games" with budgets that can stretch into the AA range. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like Sony.
Today, however, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who become organic promoters, often eclipsing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in terms of reach. "You have an audience who, let's say, love friendslop games, and they're looking for other friendslop games.
You actually have more influence for distribution than GameSpot, than IGN, than Steam, right? So that's why I think today indie game studios are more likely to become publishers – they also have additional distribution reach," Chen adds.
Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. Roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a uniquely balanced audience compared with many other developers.
"If we promote or feature a game that would be appealing to men and women equally, our audience is going to have a very unique overlap, because there are many of our players who have never played games before," Chen explains. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps.
In the official press release, Chen articulated the publisher's ethos: "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 lead 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 are not 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.
The definition of "emotional" is deliberately broad. "It can be joyful, chaotic, even funny.
The through line is always, will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation," Xue continued.
While many indie publishers focus on sub‑$1 million budgets, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger endeavors. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue noted, adding that the company can support solo creators with visionary ideas as well as larger teams aiming for AA‑level production values.
Deal terms will be tailored to each project, reflecting the studio's own experience as developers. Xue stressed the importance of fairness, transparency, and developer‑friendly arrangements that empower creators to realize the strongest version of their game. Unlike some peers that operate on a funding‑only basis, Thatgamepublisher will function as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This integrated approach mirrors a broader industry shift toward modular publishing models, where developers pick and choose the services they need. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive summed up the trend: "The old school publishing model is dead; the new model is about developers selecting the exact support they require, whether that's marketing, console conversion assistance, or full‑scale funding." Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt 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.
Ultimately, we want to meet each project where it is and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer." When asked why developers should consider Thatgamepublisher, Xue pointed to the company's founding belief: games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people. He cited the studio's own portfolio—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—as proof that such experiences resonate worldwide. "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 said.
Xue concluded by describing the publisher's role as a guardian of the creative process, offering resources, infrastructure, and a caring partnership to ensure that emotionally ambitious games retain their heart while reaching broader audiences.