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 follows a growing pattern among independent studios that, after scoring a breakout success, expand into publishing or funding roles to nurture other indie developers. In 2024, Innersloth, the creators of the viral sensation Among Us, launched Outersloth, backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook.
Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, introduced Kinetic Publishing, which now carries titles such as Precognition, the latest project from Sam Barlow’s Immortality team. Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has begun Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the minds behind Peak, started the Evil Landfall label. The trend illustrates how successful indie studios are leveraging their newfound resources to become enablers for the next wave of innovative games. "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 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 has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the project nearly bankrupted the studio and resulted in a mass lay‑off of staff.
Fast forward to 2019, Sky: Children of the Light became a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky has placed Thatgamecompany in a position to reinvest its profits into what it calls "emotionally ambitious games," a term that reflects the studio's long‑standing focus on experiences that resonate on a personal level. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences.
In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like PlayStation. Today, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can now amass millions of players who act as organic promoters, 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 asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. Roughly 70% of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender appeal than many of its peers. "We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," Chen says. This diverse audience can be leveraged to promote games that aim for gender‑balanced appeal, potentially introducing many newcomers to the medium.
While Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, details remain under wraps. In its launch statement, 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 head of the publishing effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is seeking titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary filters. "The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us.
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.
"'Emotional' can mean many things – 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." Where many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher signals a willingness to back larger undertakings. "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 exact terms of each deal – revenue share, recoupment schedules, and so forth – will be tailored to the individual project's needs. "As developers ourselves, we understand how important it is to build partnerships that are fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly, while giving teams the support they need to realise the strongest version of their game," he added.
Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, launch support, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with some newer indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only model.
Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, remarked earlier in the year that "the old school publishing model is dead," noting that developers now pick and choose the services they require, whether it be marketing, console porting assistance, or full‑scale production support. Xue reiterated Thatgamepublisher’s flexibility, stating that the studio can craft modular agreements around funding, marketing, or other specific needs.
Yet he also highlighted that for emotionally ambitious projects, an integrated partnership often yields the best results. "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," he said. The overarching rationale for developers to consider Thatgamepublisher lies in the company's core belief that 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," Xue explained.
He added that emotionally ambitious games often require a different development 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," Xue said.
Drawing on the studio’s experience running Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher believes it can help other teams scale without diluting the emotional impact 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," Xue concluded.