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 scored a breakout success expand into publishing or funding roles to uplift other independent developers. For instance, Innersloth, the creators of the viral phenomenon Among Us, introduced Outersloth in 2024, backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook.
Earlier this year, Kinetic Games—known for the horror hit Phasmophobia—started Kinetic Publishing, which already includes projects such as Precognition from Sam Barlow, the mind behind Immortality. Pocketpair, the studio behind the whimsical world of Palworld, has rolled out Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, famous for the physics‑driven battle royale Peak, launched its own label, Evil Landfall. The list of indie powerhouses turning publisher continues to grow.
"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 starkly different when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy, forcing a mass layoff of staff.
In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—particularly in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The sustained revenue from Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate profits toward what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games.
Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like Sony. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says. A successful indie title can now amass millions of players who act as organic promoters, often 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." Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile.
"We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," Chen points out, highlighting that roughly 70 percent of Sky's player base identifies as female. This gender‑balanced community provides a unique platform for titles that aim to appeal to both men and women, especially those who may be new to gaming. While the publisher has kept its first slate of projects under wraps, Chen shared the guiding philosophy 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 leader of the publishing effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is scouting for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not decisive factors.
"The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us," Xue said. "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 elaborated on the definition of "emotional," noting it can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy.
The core question, he says, is whether the experience lingers after the console is turned off. "If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation," he added.
Where many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger ambitions. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue explained. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The terms of each publishing agreement will be tailored to the specific needs of the project. Xue stressed that, as former developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships.
They aim to provide the resources necessary for creators to realize the strongest possible version of their games. Unlike some newer indie publishers that operate on a modular, funding‑only basis, Thatgamepublisher is launching as a full‑service entity. It will offer financing, production planning, platform and launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This comprehensive approach distinguishes it from models like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which tend to focus on selective services. 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 support they need—whether that is marketing, console porting assistance, or full‑scale funding. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement based on each project's requirements, providing modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other specific support. However, he also noted that emotionally driven projects often benefit from an integrated partnership, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven.
This holistic involvement helps protect the emotional core of a game and guides the team from concept to player. Ultimately, the publisher's mission is to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. Xue highlighted the company's founding belief that games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and to bring out the best in humanity.
"That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky: Children of the Light," he said. "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." He added that emotionally ambitious games often require a different playbook. The heart of a project may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Thatgamepublisher's role is to safeguard that process, offering developers the space, guidance, and alignment needed to uncover the strongest expression of their vision. Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light as an emotional live‑service title—now boasting over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamepublisher believes it understands how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. By focusing on the emotional truth of each game, building from its players and community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher aims to help every project reach a broader audience while staying true to its core feeling.