Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely celebrated 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 achieved breakout success and are now leveraging their financial windfalls to nurture other indie developers. Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to fund games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and is backing projects 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 broader shift in the industry where successful small teams prefer to stay lean while using surplus capital to support projects they understand and appreciate. "Successful indie games are often built on shoestring budgets," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "When a title takes off, you suddenly have a lot of cash, but you don't want to turn your boutique studio into a massive corporation.
The logical place to invest that money is in other indie games you know well, because you share the same creative sensibilities. That's why many indie studios are moving into publishing." Thatgamecompany's own journey illustrates the stakes involved. When Journey launched in 2012, the studio faced severe financial strain; Chen has recounted that the project nearly bankrupted the company and resulted in a wave of layoffs. The situation has changed dramatically thanks to Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019.
The game has become a global phenomenon—especially in China—and has even inspired a feature film. The revenue generated by Sky now provides Thatgamecompany with the resources to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also points out a fundamental change in distribution. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the channels through which games reached players.
Today, the distribution network is effectively owned by the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth marketers. "A successful indie title can attract millions of players who become its most powerful distribution engine," Chen says. "If your audience loves heartfelt, cooperative experiences, they will actively seek out similar games, often more effectively than traditional media outlets like GameSpot or IGN." Another unique advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach.
Chen notes that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many competitors. "When we showcase a game that appeals to both men and women, we tap into a distinctive overlap because many of our players are newcomers to gaming," he adds. While Thatgamepublisher has already signed a few undisclosed projects, the publisher's public vision is clear.
In a press release, Chen wrote: "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 bring those visions to life." SJ Xue, Thatgamecompany's vice‑president of growth and corporate development and the leader of the publishing effort, elaborated on the kind 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.
We care about whether the experience reaches meaningful emotional territory and stays with the player after the screen goes dark." Xue emphasized that "emotional" can encompass a wide range of feelings—joy, chaos, humor, melancholy—so long as the game leaves a lasting impression. This philosophy informs the publisher's flexible funding approach.
While many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to support larger, AA‑level projects. "We are open to solo creators with boundless imagination as well as larger teams with more substantial budgets," Xue said. The terms of each publishing deal will be tailored to the project's needs.
Xue highlighted the company's developer‑first mindset: "Because we are developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships. We aim to provide the support necessary to realize the strongest version of each game." Unlike some peers that operate on a funding‑only model, Thatgamepublisher intends to be a full‑service publisher.
Its suite of services includes financing, production planning, platform strategy, launch execution, marketing, community management, and long‑term intellectual‑property development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with the modular models championed by studios like Outersloth and Evil Landfall, which allow developers to pick and choose specific services. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, noted that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that modern developers prefer customizable packages. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements when appropriate, 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. By being involved across those areas, we can protect the emotional core of the experience and help the team carry that vision all the way to players," he explained. The publisher's overarching mission is rooted in the belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. Xue summed up the philosophy: "From Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky, our work has always centered on emotional connection.
Yet we recognize that this journey extends beyond a single studio. Creators worldwide are exploring how games can make people feel, and we want to help those ideas reach an audience." He added that emotionally ambitious games often require a different development playbook. "The heart of a project may not be obvious at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations. Our role is to protect that process, offering space, guidance, and alignment so developers can uncover the strongest version of their work." Drawing on its own experience running Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher claims to understand how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact.
"By grasping each game's emotional truth, building from its community, and allowing genuine resonance to create scale over time, we aim to help every project reach farther while staying true to its core feeling," Xue concluded. In short, Thatgamepublisher represents Thatgamecompany's evolution from a boutique creator of artistic games into a supportive hub for other developers seeking to craft experiences that linger in players' hearts long after the final frame. The initiative promises flexible funding, full‑service support, and a steadfast commitment to emotional storytelling, positioning the publisher as a distinctive ally for indie studios aiming to push the boundaries of interactive art.