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 its own publishing division, dubbed Thatgamepublisher. This move mirrors a growing pattern among successful indie developers who, after scoring a breakout success, expand into publishing or funding to nurture other independent projects. 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 from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a desire to reinvest surplus revenue back into the indie ecosystem. "It’s 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." Thatgamecompany’s own journey illustrates the stakes involved.
When Journey launched in 2012, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and was forced to lay off most of its staff. Chen has recounted that period to GamesIndustry.biz, noting how close the company came to collapse.
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 game has amassed hundreds of millions of downloads and generated substantial revenue, giving Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to allocate profits toward what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games. The shift in distribution dynamics also plays a role.
Chen points out that when Journey debuted, distribution channels were largely controlled 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 reach millions of players directly through social media, streaming, and word‑of‑mouth, providing a built‑in marketing engine that rivals traditional outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. 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 most developers.
"If we promote or feature a game that would be appealing to men and women equally, our audience is going to have a very unique overlap, because there are many of our players who have never played games before," he explains. This diverse audience could prove invaluable for titles that aim to resonate across different player segments. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps.
In a press release, 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 head of the publishing initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is the ability of a game to linger in a player’s mind after the console is turned off.
"'Emotional' can mean many things—joyful, chaotic, even funny. The through line is always, will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." Unlike many indie publishers that limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level projects.
Xue says the publisher is "quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," welcoming solo creators with bold ideas as well as larger teams seeking substantial investment. Deal terms, such as revenue share and recoupment percentages, will be tailored to each project’s specific needs.
"As developers ourselves, we understand how important it is to build partnerships that are fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly, while giving teams the support they need to realise the strongest version of their game," Xue notes. Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a modular, funding‑only model.
Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive recently observed that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that modern developers prefer to cherry‑pick services—be it marketing, console porting, or funding—based on their unique requirements. Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements when appropriate, but stresses that for emotionally ambitious titles an integrated partnership often yields the best results.
"Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are often deeply interconnected. 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 explains. The overarching rationale for developers to join Thatgamepublisher lies in the studio’s founding belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
Chen reflects, "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 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 adds that emotionally driven projects often require a distinct development playbook, one that accommodates evolving prototypes, quiet discoveries, and iterative design. "Our role is to help protect that process, giving developers the room, guidance, and alignment they need to discover the strongest version of their work," Chen says.
Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamecompany believes it can scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. "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 concludes.