Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed creator behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely beloved Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the formation of a new publishing division named Thatgamepublisher. This move places the studio among a growing cohort of independent developers who, after achieving breakout success, are branching out into publishing or funding roles to nurture other indie projects. Recent examples include Innersloth, the team behind the viral hit Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to support games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, introduced Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition—created by Sam Barlow of Immortality fame—to its roster.
Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has also rolled out Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the minds behind Peak, started the label Evil Landfall. The pattern is clear: successful indie studios are leveraging their newfound capital and industry insight to become champions of other creators. "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," explained Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "But then you are a small team [making] games, you don't want to suddenly become a thousands of people 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 reality was stark when Journey launched in 2012. Chen told GamesIndustry.biz that the project's development nearly bankrupted the studio, resulting in a wave of layoffs.
In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—especially in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The sustained revenue stream from Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate profits toward what it describes as "emotionally ambitious games" with budgets that can reach AA scale. Beyond the financial shift, Chen notes a fundamental change in how games reach audiences. In Journey's era, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as PlayStation.
"Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he said. A successful indie title can now amass millions of players who act as organic distributors, sharing experiences across social media, streaming platforms, and community forums.
"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." Another distinguishing factor for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach.
Chen highlighted that 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," he added. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though the titles remain under wraps.
In the official press release, Chen articulated the publisher's mission: "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 initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is scouting 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 explained. He further clarified what "emotional" can entail: joy, chaos, humor, or even melancholy.
"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." While many indie publishers concentrate 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 said. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The specifics of each publishing agreement—such as revenue share and recoupment terms—will be tailored to the individual project's needs.
Xue stressed that, as former developers themselves, Thatgamecompany understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that empower creators to realize the strongest version of their games. Unlike some indie publishers that operate on a funding‑only basis, Thatgamepublisher is launching as a full‑service operation. It will provide financing, production planning, platform strategy, launch support, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This comprehensive approach contrasts with the modular models adopted by studios like Outersloth and Evil Landfall, which let developers pick and choose specific services. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, remarked earlier that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that modern publishers must offer flexible, à‑la‑carte options. Xue echoed this sentiment, noting that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement based on a developer's requirements, offering modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other targeted assistance. However, he added that for projects with deep emotional ambitions, a more integrated partnership often yields the best results.
"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, the publisher aims to meet each project where it stands and shape the collaboration around what will be most beneficial for the developer.
Xue highlighted the core philosophy driving the initiative: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity. "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 continued, "We learned from our own work that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook.
The heart of a project is not always easy to define at the beginning. It can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Our role is to help protect that process, giving developers the room, guidance, and alignment they need to 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 can scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their essence. "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," Xue concluded.