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 named Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful indie developers who, after achieving a breakout success, expand into publishing or funding to nurture other independent projects. 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 titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which introduced Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which created the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a broader shift in the industry where small studios leverage their newfound capital and expertise to become patrons of 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," explained 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, Thatgamecompany was far from flush with cash. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly pushed the studio to bankruptcy and resulted in a mass lay‑off of staff.
The situation has changed dramatically thanks to the runaway success of Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019. The game has performed exceptionally well worldwide, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature film adaptation. Those profits now give Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games.
Chen also notes that the distribution landscape has shifted. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the primary channels for getting games to players.
Today, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says. A popular indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who become organic promoters, often out‑reaching traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam itself.
This democratization of reach means indie studios have a stronger incentive to become publishers, as they can leverage their own community to amplify new releases. Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition. Chen points out that roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a larger female reach than most other game companies. "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 adds.
While Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, the titles 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 searching for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not limiting factors. "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 explained. He further clarified what "emotional" means to the publisher: "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." Where many indie publishers concentrate on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to support larger, AA‑level projects.
Xue said, "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale. We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The financial terms of each deal will be tailored to the specific needs of the project.
"As developers ourselves, we understand how important it is to build partnerships that are fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly, while giving teams the support they need to realise the strongest version of their game," Xue noted. Unlike some indie publishers that operate solely as funding sources, Thatgamepublisher is launching as a full‑service publisher.
It will offer financing, production planning, platform strategy, launch support, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with the modular models adopted by Outersloth or Evil Landfall, where developers can pick and choose specific services.
Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, has observed that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that the modern paradigm allows developers to select exactly the assistance they require—be it marketing, console porting, or full‑scale production 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." He summed up the publisher's mission: "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 that games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people. "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." He added that emotionally ambitious games often need a different development playbook. "The heart of a project is not always easy to define at the beginning.
It can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative 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." Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher believes it can guide other studios in scaling heartfelt experiences without diluting their core impact.
"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.