Thatgamecompany Expands with Thatgamepublisher to Support Emotionally Driven Games

Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed 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 reflects a broader industry pattern in which successful indie studios leverage their financial windfalls to become publishers or investors for other independent developers.

Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and now supports 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 demonstrates how a single breakout title can enable a small studio to expand its role in the 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‑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." When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was far from flush with cash.

Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly drove the company to bankruptcy and resulted in a mass layoff. 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 has even spawned a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky gives Thatgamecompany the financial muscle to fund what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games, including projects with AA‑level budgets. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach players. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as PlayStation.

Today, he argues, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can amass millions of active users who become organic promoters, effectively serving as a distribution engine that rivals traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. This democratization of reach empowers indie studios to act as publishers because they already possess a built‑in audience that can be leveraged for new releases.

Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. Chen points out that roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a larger female audience than most game companies worldwide.

"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 says. While the exact titles in Thatgamepublisher’s pipeline remain under wraps, Chen shared the publisher’s overarching philosophy in a press release: "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, elaborated on the type of projects they are seeking.

"We are looking for titles that move people through play," Xue told GamesIndustry.biz. "The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us.

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 clarified that "emotional" can encompass a wide spectrum—joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy—as long as the experience lingers after the console is turned off. This focus on lasting impact guides the publisher’s selection criteria.

Unlike many indie‑focused publishers that limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger ventures. "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 customized.

Xue emphasized that, as former developers, they understand the need for fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements that give teams the resources they need while preserving creative control. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term intellectual‑property development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often provide funding only. The industry is moving toward modular publishing models, where developers can pick and choose services.

Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive summed it up: "The old school publishing model is dead; the new model is about developers selecting the services they need, whether that's marketing, console conversion help, funding, or the whole package." Xue confirmed that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements as well, tailoring support to each project's unique needs. However, for emotionally ambitious games, he believes an integrated partnership—covering creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy—delivers the most value and protects the game's emotional core. In summary, Thatgamepublisher aims to meet each project where it is, shaping partnerships around the developer’s priorities. The guiding belief is that games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people.

This conviction has shaped Thatgamecompany’s own portfolio—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—and now fuels a broader mission: to empower creators worldwide to explore new emotional frontiers and deliver experiences that stay with players long after the screen fades to black.