Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed creator of 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 follows a growing pattern among successful indie studios that, after scoring a breakout title, branch out into publishing or financing to uplift other independent developers. Recent examples include Innersloth, the minds behind Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to support games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and now backs projects such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which introduced Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the creators of Peak, which created the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a desire to reinvest earnings into the indie ecosystem. "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‑person 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." When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was far from flush with cash. Chen told GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly bankrupted the company and forced a mass lay‑off.
The situation is dramatically different now. 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 title has generated substantial revenue, giving Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to fund 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 amass millions of players who act as organic promoters.
"You have an audience who love friends‑slop games and are looking for more. You actually have more influence for distribution than GameSpot, than IGN, than Steam, right? That's why indie studios are more likely to become publishers – they also have additional distribution reach." Another differentiator 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, noting that roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female.
This gender‑balanced audience provides a unique platform for titles that aim to appeal to both men and women, many of whom may be new to gaming. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though details remain under wraps. In its launch statement, 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 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 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." "'Emotional' can mean many things," Xue added.
"It can be 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." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is willing to support larger, AA‑level projects. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue said.
"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 deal will be tailored to the project's needs. Xue explained that, as developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements that still provide the resources required to realize a game's full potential. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, platform and launch 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, told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now pick and choose the services they need—whether that's marketing, console porting, or full‑scale production support. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher 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." However, he believes that emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from an integrated partnership, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly aligned. This integrated approach helps protect the emotional core of a game and guides the team from concept to player. Ultimately, the publisher aims to meet each project where it is and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer.
The guiding belief is that games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people. Chen summed it up: "That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky: Children of the Light. 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." By leveraging the studio's experience running Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamepublisher hopes to demonstrate how emotionally resonant experiences can scale without losing their heart. The publisher's mission is to understand each game's emotional truth, nurture its community, and allow genuine resonance to build sustainable reach, ensuring that every supported project can travel farther while staying true to the feeling at its core.