Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move places the studio among a growing cohort of successful indie developers who, after achieving breakout success, are leveraging their financial and industry clout to nurture other independent projects. Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which backed games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label.
The pattern reflects a broader shift: when a small studio scores a massive hit, it suddenly possesses surplus capital and a deep understanding of the indie development process, making the step into publishing a logical next chapter. "Successful indie games are usually built on shoestring budgets," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "When a title blows up, you end up with more money than your small team can absorb.
You don’t want to balloon into a thousand‑person corporation, so you look for ways to invest that cash where you have expertise. Supporting other indie studios is a natural fit, and that’s why many of us are taking this route." The financial reality was starkly different when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly bankrupted the studio, resulting in a wave of layoffs.
Fast‑forward to today, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature film. The revenue generated by Sky has given Thatgamecompany the runway to allocate funds toward what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games. Beyond the cash flow, the distribution landscape has transformed dramatically.
Chen notes that in the era of Journey, distribution channels were controlled primarily by platform holders like Sony. "Now the distribution network belongs to the players themselves—social media influencers, streamers, and community creators.
A hit indie title can reach millions of players organically, becoming its own most powerful marketing engine." He adds that Thatgamecompany enjoys a uniquely diverse player base. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s audience is female, a demographic that is under‑represented in many gaming companies.
"When we showcase a game that appeals to both men and women, we reach a crossover audience that includes many people who have never played a game before," Chen says. This demographic advantage informs the publisher’s strategy of championing titles with broad, inclusive emotional appeal.
While the exact slate of projects under Thatgamepublisher remains under wraps, Chen has hinted that a "couple" of games are already signed. The publisher’s mission statement, released in a press note, underscores its philosophical roots: "When we first began making games, many questioned whether interactive experiences could move players as deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years, games have proven their capacity to 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 initiative, elaborated on the type of projects the studio seeks.
"We are looking for games that move people through play," Xue told GamesIndustry.biz. "Genre, platform, or label are irrelevant.
What matters is whether the experience reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to carry players there." He clarified that "emotional" can encompass a wide spectrum—joy, chaos, humor, melancholy—as long as the experience lingers after the console is turned off. "If a game can stay with someone after the screen goes dark, we want to talk," Xue said. Unlike many indie publishers that limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑scale projects.
"We are flexible on funding and project size," Xue explained. "Whether you are a solo creator with a brilliant concept or a larger team with a more ambitious scope, we can tailor our support." The terms of each publishing deal will be customized to the needs of the individual project. Xue emphasized that, as developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships.
The publisher aims to provide not just capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This full‑service approach distinguishes Thatgamepublisher from peers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a modular, funding‑only model. Industry observers note that the old‑school publishing model—where a single entity handled every aspect of a game’s lifecycle—is fading. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive described the new paradigm as developers picking and choosing the services they need, whether that’s marketing assistance, console porting, or pure financing.
Xue echoed this sentiment, stating that Thatgamepublisher can offer modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other specific support, but believes many emotionally driven projects benefit from an integrated partnership. "Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are often deeply interconnected for these games. Being involved across those areas lets us protect the emotional core and help the team bring their vision to players," he said. Ultimately, the publisher’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
This belief has guided Thatgamecompany’s own catalog—from the meditative flow of Flow, through the delicate bloom of Flower, the pilgrimage of Journey, to the communal sky‑bound adventure of Sky: Children of the Light. Chen acknowledges that while his studio has pioneered this approach, the broader industry is now exploring similar emotional frontiers. "We want to help those ideas find their way to players," he said. Xue added that emotionally ambitious games often require a different development playbook.
The heart of such a project may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iterative design, quiet discoveries, and thoughtful creative conversations. The publisher’s role, according to Xue, is to safeguard that process, offering developers the space, guidance, and alignment needed to uncover the strongest version of their work. Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light as an emotional live‑service title—with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—the team believes it understands how to scale heartfelt 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, Thatgamepublisher aims to help each project reach a wider audience while staying true to its core feeling.
In summary, Thatgamepublisher represents Thatgamecompany’s evolution from a singular indie studio into a full‑service publisher dedicated to nurturing games that prioritize emotional connection. By offering flexible funding, comprehensive production support, and a philosophy centered on shared human experience, the new arm seeks to empower creators worldwide to push the emotional boundaries of interactive media.