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 hit, branch out into publishing or investment to nurture other independent developers.
Earlier this year, Innersloth, the team behind the viral phenomenon Among Us, launched Outersloth to fund projects like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Likewise, Kinetic Games—known for Phasmophobia—started Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition to its roster, while Pocketpair (the makers of Palworld) and Landfall Games (creators of Peak) have each opened their own publishing arms. The trend reflects a broader shift in the industry, where creators with capital and credibility choose to reinvest in the indie ecosystem.
Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the logic behind the strategy: "When an indie game that was built on a shoestring budget becomes a massive success, you suddenly have a surplus of cash. Yet, you don’t want to morph into a massive corporation overnight.
You prefer to keep a small, focused team, so the natural question is where to allocate that extra funding. The answer is often to support other indie projects that you understand and are passionate about.
That’s why many indie studios are becoming publishers." The financial landscape was very different when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted that the game's development nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy, resulting in a wave of layoffs. In contrast, 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 by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the ability to invest in what it terms "emotionally ambitious" games, a phrase that captures its core mission of creating experiences that resonate on a deep, personal level.
Chen also notes a fundamental change in how games reach audiences. In the era of Journey, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like PlayStation.
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 who become its most powerful promotional engine, often outpacing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. This democratization of distribution gives indie studios a compelling reason to step into publishing, as they can leverage their own community reach to amplify other creators' work.
Another distinctive advantage Thatgamecompany brings to the table is its unusually high female player base. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s audience identifies as female, a demographic share that surpasses most other developers. Chen believes this gives Thatgamepublisher a unique positioning: "If we highlight a game that appeals equally to men and women, we tap into an audience that includes many people who may never have played games before.
That overlap creates opportunities for titles that might otherwise struggle to find a foothold." While the specific projects under the Thatgamepublisher banner remain under wraps, Chen has shared the publisher’s philosophical foundation in a press release. He recalls the early skepticism that interactive experiences could ever move players as profoundly as film, literature, or music.
Over the years, however, games have demonstrated their capacity to forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect families, and restore hope. "Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways," the statement reads. "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 effort, emphasizes that the label is looking for titles that "move people through play." He stresses that genre, platform, or size are not primary concerns.
"We are open to any team, at any stage, even prototypes, as long as the game strives for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to guide players there," Xue explains. He adds that "emotional" can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy—the common thread being whether the experience lingers after the screen goes dark. Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level projects.
Xue says the firm is "quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," willing to collaborate with solo creators bursting with creativity as well as larger studios requiring more substantial resources. The terms of each publishing agreement—such as revenue share and recoup schedules—will be customized to suit the individual project's needs. "As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships," Xue notes.
Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach distinguishes it from other indie publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a funding‑only or modular model. Industry observer Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive has remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead," with modern developers now selecting specific services they require—be it marketing, console porting, or funding—rather than signing over all rights.
Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can tailor its involvement, providing modular support where appropriate, yet he believes many emotionally driven projects benefit from an integrated partnership. "Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are often deeply interconnected for these games," he says. "Being involved across those areas allows us to protect the emotional core of the game and help the team carry that vision all the way to players." The overarching rationale for developers to consider Thatgamepublisher lies in the studio’s founding belief: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity. Chen reflects that this philosophy has shaped every title from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
He adds that the company’s experience running Sky as a live‑service emotional experience—with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—has taught them how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. In summary, Thatgamepublisher aims to identify creators who are pushing the emotional boundaries of the medium, provide them with the resources and expertise needed to refine their visions, and ultimately deliver games that linger in players’ hearts long after the console is turned off.
By combining a deep understanding of emotional storytelling with the infrastructure of a full‑service publisher, Thatgamecompany hopes to foster a new wave of indie titles that not only entertain but also resonate on a profoundly human level.