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 broader industry pattern in which independent studios that have scored a breakout success leverage their newfound resources to nurture other indie projects.
Recent examples include Innersloth, the developers of Among Us, which started Outersloth in 2024 to fund games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which launched Kinetic Publishing and is backing Sam Barlow’s upcoming Precognition; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which now operates Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the creators of Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a growing belief that small teams can become effective patrons of their peers.
Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the logic behind the shift: "When an indie title that was built on a shoestring budget becomes a massive success, you suddenly have a surplus of cash. Yet you don’t necessarily want to turn your tight‑knit studio into a sprawling corporation. The sensible place to invest that capital is in something you understand deeply—other indie games.
That’s why many indie studios are moving into publishing." The financial reality was stark when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the project nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy and resulted in a wave of layoffs. The situation is dramatically different today.
Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has generated enormous revenue, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature film. Those profits now give Thatgamecompany the runway to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also notes a shift in distribution dynamics.
In the early 2010s, platforms such as PlayStation controlled the primary channels for reaching players. Today, the distribution network belongs to the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth marketers. A successful indie title can amass millions of fans who become the most powerful promotional engine, surpassing traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam.
"If your audience loves a certain style of game, they’ll actively seek out similar experiences," Chen says. "That gives indie studios a distribution advantage that didn’t exist before." Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition.
Roughly 70% of Sky: Children of the Light’s player base is female, a demographic share that exceeds most other game companies. Chen believes this creates a unique overlap: games that appeal to both men and women can reach a broader, more diverse audience, including many players who are new to gaming.
Thatgamepublisher has already signed a few projects, though the titles remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher’s mission: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move people as profoundly as film, literature, or music. Over the years, we’ve seen games forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope.
Those moments prove that games can touch lives in deep ways. Thatgamepublisher exists to help creators worldwide explore new emotional frontiers and 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 searching for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary filters. "We are open to any team, any stage of development, even early prototypes, as long as the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to guide players there," Xue explained.
"Emotional can mean joyful, chaotic, funny—anything that stays with a player after the screen goes dark. If a game aspires to that, we want to talk." While many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger, AA‑scale projects. Xue said the company’s funding model is flexible, ranging from solo developers with big ideas to larger teams needing more substantial resources.
The specifics of each deal—such as revenue share and recoup terms—will be tailored to the individual project's needs, reflecting the studio’s own experience as developers who value fair, transparent partnerships. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This contrasts with some newer indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only approach. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive remarked earlier that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now pick and choose the services they require—be it marketing, console conversion assistance, or funding.
Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can customize its involvement: "We can provide modular support for funding, marketing, or any specific area a developer needs. Yet for emotionally ambitious projects, an integrated partnership often yields the best results because creative development, production, positioning, and community engagement are tightly intertwined. Being present across those domains lets us protect the game's emotional core and help the team deliver that vision to players." The overarching philosophy behind the venture is simple: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences.
Chen summed it up: "From Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky, we have always believed that games can bring out the best in us. We now want to amplify that belief by supporting creators worldwide who are exploring new ways to make players feel. Our experience running Sky as a live‑service with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation has taught us how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact.
By understanding each game's emotional truth and building from its community, we aim to help every project reach farther while staying true to its heart."