Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed developer behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation 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 use their newfound resources to support other independent creators. Earlier this year Innersloth, the team behind the viral phenomenon Among Us, launched Outersloth to fund games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, introduced Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition—crafted by Sam Barlow, the mind behind Immortality—to its roster.
Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, started Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the creators of Peak, formed the Evil Landfall label. The trend is unmistakable: a small, cash‑rich indie studio transforms into a publisher to nurture the ecosystem that once helped it succeed. "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 stark when Journey launched in 2012.
Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the project nearly pushed the studio to bankruptcy, resulting in a mass layoff of staff. In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑length film. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the breathing room to allocate profits toward what it calls "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. "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 reach. Roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a uniquely balanced audience. "We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," Chen remarks.
"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." Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" 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 lead of the publishing effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are secondary to the emotional resonance a game can deliver. "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 what "emotional" can mean: joy, chaos, humor, or any feeling that lingers after the console is turned off. "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." While many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level endeavors. "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 deal will be tailored to the project's needs. Xue stressed that, as developers themselves, they understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements.
This philosophy extends to the publisher's service model. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, 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, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, observed that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that developers now pick and choose the services they require—whether it's marketing, console porting assistance, or full‑scale support. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement: "We can be flexible depending on what a developer and project needs, including more modular arrangements around areas such as funding, marketing, or other specific support. That being said, we believe the kinds of games we want to work with often benefit from a more integrated partnership. For emotionally ambitious projects, 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. Ultimately, we want to meet each project where it is and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer." When asked why developers should consider signing with Thatgamepublisher, Xue pointed to the company's founding belief: games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people. He noted that this conviction has guided every title Thatgamecompany has released—from the meditative Flow and the blossoming Flower to the pilgrimage‑like Journey and the communal Sky.
Yet the studio acknowledges that the emotional frontier extends far beyond its own work. "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," Xue said.
He added that emotionally ambitious games often require a different development playbook. The heart of a project may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and thoughtful conversations. "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," Xue explained. Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title with more than 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher believes it can help other studios scale without diluting the emotional impact of their games.
"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 concluded.