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 have scored breakout successes and are now expanding into publishing or funding roles to nurture other indie projects.
In 2024, Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, introduced Outersloth, backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games—known for Phasmophobia—started Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition, a new work from Sam Barlow, the mind behind Immortality. Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has rolled out Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, launched the Evil Landfall label. The trend is clear: successful indie developers are leveraging their newfound capital to become patrons of the next generation of 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." Thatgamecompany’s own history illustrates why the studio is well‑positioned for this role.
When Journey launched in 2012, the project nearly drove the company to bankruptcy, forcing a mass lay‑off. Chen has recounted that period to GamesIndustry.biz, noting how the ambitious artistic vision nearly emptied the studio’s coffers.
In stark contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—particularly in China—and even inspired a feature film. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to back "emotionally ambitious" games, a phrase the studio uses to describe projects that aim to move players on a deeper level than typical gameplay loops.
The distribution landscape has shifted as well. Chen points out that during Journey’s era, 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 players who act as organic promoters, often wielding more sway than traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. This democratization of reach means indie studios can now serve as both creators and distributors, making publishing a logical extension of their capabilities.
Another distinctive advantage Thatgamecompany brings is its audience demographic. "We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," Chen notes, adding that roughly 70% of Sky’s player base identifies as female. This gender‑balanced community offers a unique platform for games that aim to appeal to both men and women, especially titles that might attract newcomers to gaming. While the exact slate of games under Thatgamepublisher remains under wraps, Chen has shared a vision statement in a press release: "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, tells GamesIndustry.biz that the publisher is searching for titles that "move people through play." He emphasizes that genre, platform, or team size are not primary criteria. "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 says.
He adds that emotional impact can be joyful, chaotic, or even humorous, but the key question is whether the experience lingers after the screen goes dark. Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger undertakings. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue explains. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The terms of each deal—such as revenue share and recoup schedules—will be tailored to the specific needs of the project, reflecting the studio’s own experience as developers who value transparent, fair partnerships.
Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering funding, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with other indie publishers like Outersloth and Evil Landfall, which often adopt a modular, funding‑only approach. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, has observed that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that modern developers prefer to pick and choose the services they need—be it marketing, console porting, or financing. Xue echoes this sentiment, stating that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements but believes that emotionally ambitious projects benefit from an integrated partnership that spans creative development, production, positioning, and community outreach.
Ultimately, the goal is to meet each developer where they are and shape a partnership that maximizes the project's emotional resonance while ensuring commercial viability. Xue sums up the philosophy: "Games can connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in us. That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
We now want to help creators worldwide expand that frontier, protecting the delicate creative process and providing the resources needed to bring heartfelt visions to a global audience."