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 called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful indie developers who, after scoring breakout successes, expand into publishing or funding to uplift other independent projects. For example, Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, launched Outersloth in 2024 and have already backed games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook.
Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, introduced Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition—Sam Barlow’s latest work—to its roster. Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, started Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, opened the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a broader industry shift toward indie studios taking on the role of publisher.
Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the motivation behind the new venture: "Successful indie games are often built on very lean budgets. When a title takes off, you suddenly have a surplus of cash, but you don’t want to balloon into a massive corporation overnight. The logical place to invest that money is in something you understand—other indie games. That’s why many studios are moving into publishing." Thatgamecompany’s own journey was far from a cash‑flow miracle when Journey launched in 2012.
Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly bankrupted the studio, resulting in a wave of layoffs. The situation is dramatically different now.
Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in China, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated from Sky has given Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious games" with budgets that can stretch into the AA range. Chen also points out how the distribution landscape has evolved.
In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the primary distribution channels. Today, the distribution network is effectively owned by the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth marketers.
"A successful indie title can amass millions of players, and those players become your strongest distribution engine," Chen says. "Your audience might be looking for more games with a similar emotional tone, and you can reach them directly, often more effectively than traditional media outlets." Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Chen notes that roughly 70% of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many competitors.
"When we promote a game that appeals to both men and women, we tap into a unique overlap because many of our players are newcomers to gaming." Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though the titles remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher’s philosophy: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move people as deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years, we’ve seen games forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect families, and restore hope. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways.
Thatgamepublisher exists to help creators around the world explore new emotional frontiers and 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 seeking titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary criteria. "We are open to any team, any stage of development, even prototypes, as long as the game strives for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to reach that space," Xue explained. "Emotional can mean joyful, chaotic, or even humorous.
The key question is: will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If the answer is yes, we want to talk." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors. Xue says the publisher is flexible regarding funding levels and project scale, ranging from solo creators with bold ideas to larger studios working with AA‑level budgets. The terms of each deal—such as revenue share and recoupment—will be tailored to the specific needs of the project.
"As developers ourselves, we know how crucial fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships are," Xue added. Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some indie publishers that provide only funding and leave other responsibilities to the developer. The industry is moving toward modular publishing models, where studios can pick and choose services.
Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now prefer bespoke packages. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements when needed, but for emotionally ambitious projects, a more integrated partnership often yields the best results. "Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are deeply interconnected for these games. By being involved across those areas, we can protect the emotional core of the experience and help the team carry that vision all the way to players," he said.
Ultimately, the publisher aims to meet each project where it is, shaping the partnership around what will be most useful for the developer. The guiding belief is that games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity. This philosophy has driven Thatgamecompany’s own catalog—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—and now fuels its ambition to amplify the work of creators worldwide.
Chen summed up the vision: "We learned that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook. Their heart may not be obvious at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right conversations. Our role is to protect that process, give developers the space and guidance they need, and align resources to help the strongest version of their work shine.
With our experience running Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title that has amassed over 300 million downloads and operated globally for seven years, we understand how to scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their meaning. By honoring each game's emotional truth and nurturing its community, we aim to help every project reach a wider audience while staying true to its core feeling.