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 reflects a broader industry pattern where successful independent studios use the financial windfall from a breakout title to support other indie developers. 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 is now handling projects such as Precognition by Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which opened Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend underscores a shift in how indie studios think about growth and sustainability.
Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the logic behind the transition: "When an indie game that started on a shoestring budget becomes a massive success, you suddenly have a surplus of cash. Yet, as a small team, you don’t want to balloon into a thousand‑person corporation.
You need a place to invest that money where you have expertise and passion. Supporting other indie projects is a natural fit, and that’s why many studios are moving into publishing." The financial reality was stark when Journey launched in 2012.
Chen has recounted that the game's development nearly pushed the studio to the brink of bankruptcy, resulting in 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 has even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate resources toward what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games—titles that aim to move players on a deeper, more personal level.
Chen also notes a fundamental shift in distribution. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the pipeline to players. Today, distribution is largely driven by the community itself—players who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth promoters.
"A successful indie title can reach millions of players who become its most effective distribution channel," Chen says. "When you have an audience that loves a particular style of game, you can leverage that community to surface new experiences that align with their tastes." Another unique advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Chen points out that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many of its peers. "If we highlight a game that appeals equally to men and women, we tap into a distinctive overlap of audiences, many of whom may be new to gaming altogether," he explains.
Although specific titles have not yet been announced, Chen confirms that Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects. In the official press release, he articulates the publisher's philosophy: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could evoke emotions as powerfully as film, literature, or music. Over the years, games have proven their capacity to forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect families, and restore hope.
Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives profoundly. 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 effort, tells GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is searching for games that "move people through play." He emphasizes that genre, platform, or project size are not primary concerns. "We are open to any team, at any development stage, even prototypes. What matters is whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to guide players there." Xue expands on the definition of "emotional": "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 aspires to that, we want to have the conversation." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors.
Xue states, "We are quite flexible regarding funding and project scale. Whether it's a solo developer with a brilliant concept or a larger team aiming for an AA‑level budget, we want to support them." The terms of each publishing deal will be tailored to the project's needs. Xue notes, "As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that give teams the support they need to realize the strongest version of their game." Thatgamepublisher distinguishes itself by offering a full‑service package: funding, production planning, platform strategy, launch support, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a funding‑only model. The industry is moving toward modular publishing, where developers can pick and choose services. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now prefer to select specific support areas—be it marketing, console porting, or funding. Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements as well, but stresses that emotionally driven projects often benefit from an integrated partnership.
"Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are deeply interconnected for these games. Being involved across those areas lets us protect the emotional core of the title and help the team carry that vision to players," he says. The ultimate goal, according to Xue, is to meet each project where it is and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. He points to the company's founding belief: "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. But we also know this path is bigger than one studio. Creators worldwide are exploring new ways to expand what games can make people feel, and we want to help those ideas reach players." He adds, "Emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook.
The heart of a project may not be obvious at the start; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations. Our role is to protect that process, giving developers room, guidance, and alignment to discover the strongest version of their work." Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light as an emotional live‑service game with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher believes it can help other studios scale without diluting the feeling at the core of their games. "By understanding each game's emotional truth, 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 concludes.