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 achieved a breakout success expand into publishing or funding roles to nurture other independent projects.
Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which started Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which launched Kinetic Publishing and now supports titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which introduced Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which rolled out the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small teams to reinvest surplus earnings into the broader indie 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." When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was far from flush with cash.
Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly bankrupted the company and forced a wave of layoffs. The situation is dramatically different 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 adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial muscle to back what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games.
Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as Sony. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says.
A successful indie title can amass millions of players who act as organic promoters, providing a distribution reach that can outstrip traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. "You have an audience who love a certain type of game and they're looking for more of it. That audience becomes your strongest distribution channel." Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. Roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender reach than many of its peers.
"If we highlight a game that appeals to both men and women, our audience has a unique overlap, because many of our players have never been traditional gamers before," Chen adds. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though details remain under wraps. In the launch announcement, 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 lead 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 considerations.
"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 that "emotional" can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy, but the common thread is longevity: "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 support larger, AA‑level projects.
"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 terms of each deal will be tailored to the project's needs, with Xue noting that, as developers themselves, they understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships.
Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only model. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive remarked earlier that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that modern publishers let developers pick the services they require.
Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements but often prefers an integrated partnership for emotionally ambitious projects, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven. "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 explained. The overarching reason to partner with Thatgamepublisher, according to Xue, lies in the company's founding belief that games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people.
He highlighted how that belief has guided every Thatgamecompany title—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—and how the studio now wants to amplify that impact by supporting other creators worldwide. "Emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook.
The heart of a project may emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations. Our role is to protect that process, giving developers the room, guidance, and alignment they need to discover the strongest version of their work," Xue said. Drawing on their experience running Sky: Children of the Light as an emotional live‑service game with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamecompany believes they understand how to scale heartfelt 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.