Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely acclaimed Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division named Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a broader industry pattern where independent studios that have scored a breakout hit begin to offer publishing or funding services to other indie developers. Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of 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 team behind Peak, which formed the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among successful indie teams to reinvest their newfound capital back into the ecosystem that helped them thrive.
"Successful indie games are often built on shoestring budgets," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "When a title suddenly generates a surplus of cash, the studio faces a dilemma: either expand into a large corporation or find a way to allocate the money wisely without losing its small‑team identity. Investing in other indie projects is a natural solution because we understand the challenges and creative processes involved. That's why many independent studios are stepping into publishing roles." Thatgamecompany's own journey illustrates the stakes.
When Journey launched in 2012, the project nearly bankrupted the studio, resulting in widespread layoffs. In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a massive commercial success—particularly in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature film. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial flexibility 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 such as PlayStation. Today, distribution is largely driven by players themselves, many of whom act as influencers. A hit indie title can amass millions of players who become its most effective promotional engine, often surpassing traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in reach.
Another differentiator for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition. Roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a larger female demographic than most game companies worldwide.
"When we highlight a game that appeals to both men and women, we tap into a unique overlap," Chen says, adding that many of their players are newcomers to gaming, which expands the potential impact of any emotionally resonant experience. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher's mission: "When we first started making games, many doubted that interactive experiences could move people as profoundly as film, literature, or music. Over the years, games have proven their capacity to forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope.
Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in deep ways. Thatgamepublisher exists because we believe countless creators worldwide are exploring new emotional frontiers, 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 initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is searching for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary criteria.
"We are open to any project, whether it's a prototype or a near‑complete game, as long as it strives for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to guide players there," Xue explained. According to Xue, the emotional scope can be broad—joyful, chaotic, humorous, or somber—but the key question is whether the experience lingers after the console is turned off. "If a game can stay with someone after the screen goes dark, we want to talk," he added. While many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to support larger, AA‑level endeavors.
"We are flexible regarding funding and project scale," Xue said. "We can work with solo creators bursting with creativity or larger teams that need AA‑grade resources." The terms of each publishing agreement will be tailored to the project's needs, including revenue share and recoupment structures.
Xue stressed that, as developers themselves, they understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that provide the necessary support to realize a game's strongest form. 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 indie publishers that focus solely on funding. The industry is moving toward modular publishing models, where developers pick and choose services—whether marketing, console porting, or funding—that best suit their needs. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive summed up the shift: "The old‑school publishing model is dead; today developers curate the exact support they require." Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement, providing modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other specific assistance.
However, he believes that emotionally driven projects often benefit from a more integrated partnership, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven. "Being involved across those areas lets us protect the emotional core of the game and help the team carry that vision all the way to players," he said.
Ultimately, the publisher aims to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. The guiding philosophy is simple: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in us. That belief has shaped Thatgamecompany's own portfolio—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—and now fuels its ambition to amplify the work of creators worldwide. By leveraging the lessons learned from operating Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamepublisher hopes to help other emotionally ambitious games achieve scale without sacrificing their heartfelt essence.
The publisher's goal is to understand each game's emotional truth, build on its community, and let genuine resonance drive growth, ensuring that every project can reach a broader audience while staying true to the feeling at its heart.