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 breakout success leverage their newfound resources to support other independent developers. Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which backed games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to titles such as Precognition; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small teams to reinvest surplus earnings into projects that align with their own artistic sensibilities.
Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the rationale: "When an indie title that started on a shoestring budget suddenly generates a lot of cash, the studio faces a dilemma. You don’t want to balloon into a massive corporation, yet you have money that needs to be allocated wisely. The most natural place to invest is in other indie games that you understand and care about." This philosophy guided the studio’s earlier years, when the financial strain of producing Journey in 2012 nearly pushed the company to the brink, resulting in a wave of layoffs. The situation has dramatically shifted with Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, which has become a global phenomenon—especially in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature film.
The revenue from Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also notes a fundamental change in how games reach audiences. In the era of Journey, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like PlayStation.
Today, the distribution network belongs to the players themselves, who act as influencers and organic promoters. A successful indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who become the most powerful marketing engine, often surpassing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. "If your community loves a certain style of game, they will actively seek out similar experiences," Chen says, emphasizing the strategic advantage of having a built‑in audience. Thatgamecompany’s player base offers another unique asset: a strong female demographic.
Roughly 70 percent of Sky’s players are women, a proportion that far exceeds the industry average. Chen believes this gender balance creates an opportunity to showcase games that appeal equally to men and women, especially titles that may attract newcomers to gaming. While specific titles under the Thatgamepublisher banner remain under wraps, the publisher’s mission statement, released in a press announcement, underscores its commitment to emotionally resonant experiences.
"When we first began making games, many questioned whether interactive media could move people as deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years, we have seen games 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 to help creators worldwide explore new emotional frontiers and bring those visions to life," the statement reads. SJ Xue, Thatgamecompany’s vice president of growth and corporate development and the leader of the publishing effort, elaborates on the types of projects the studio seeks.
He stresses that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is whether a game can linger in a player’s mind after the console is turned off. "Emotional can mean joyful, chaotic, even funny. The key question is: will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If the answer is yes, we want to talk," Xue explains.
Unlike many indie publishers that limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level endeavors. Xue says the studio is flexible regarding funding structures and will tailor agreements to each project's needs, emphasizing fairness, transparency, and developer‑friendly terms. The publisher aims to provide a full suite of services—including financing, production planning, launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development—while also offering modular options for teams that only require specific support.
Industry observers note that this hybrid approach reflects a broader shift away from the traditional, rigid publishing model. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive remarked earlier this year that "the old school publishing model is dead," highlighting the growing preference for developers to pick and choose the services they need, whether that be funding, console port assistance, or marketing. Xue reiterates Thatgamepublisher’s willingness to adapt: "We can be as modular or as integrated as a developer prefers.
For emotionally ambitious projects, however, we often find that a more holistic partnership—covering creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy—delivers the greatest value and protects the game's emotional core from concept to launch." The ultimate goal, according to Xue, is to help creators harness the power of shared emotional experiences. "Our own games—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—have taught us that games can connect people in ways that bring out the best in us. We want to amplify that impact by supporting other studios that are exploring new emotional territories," he says. "By providing the resources, infrastructure, and care of a full‑service publisher, and drawing on our experience running Sky as a live‑service experience with over 300 million downloads, we aim to help each project reach a wider audience while staying true to its heartfelt vision."