Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful indie developers who, after achieving breakout hits, begin to fund and publish other independent projects. Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which backed games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to Sam Barlow’s latest Precognition; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label. Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the motivation behind the trend: "When an indie title that was built on a shoestring budget suddenly generates a flood of revenue, the studio faces a dilemma.
You don’t want to balloon into a massive corporation, yet you have extra capital that needs to be deployed wisely. The most natural place to invest is in other indie games you understand and love, which is why many studios are stepping into publishing." The financial reality was starkly different when Journey launched in 2012.
Chen has recounted that the game 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 success has given Thatgamecompany the means to channel Sky’s profits into what Chen calls "emotionally ambitious games" with budgets that can reach AA scale. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach players.
In the early 2010s, distribution was dominated by platform holders like Sony. Today, the distribution network belongs to the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth marketers. A popular indie title can amass millions of fans who become its most effective distribution channel, often outpacing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. This democratization of reach empowers indie studios to become publishers, leveraging their own communities to amplify new releases.
Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many competitors. Chen believes that promoting games that appeal to both men and women can create a unique overlap, especially because many of their players are newcomers to gaming.
Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" 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 deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years, games have proven their power to forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope. Thatgamepublisher exists because we see countless creators exploring new emotional frontiers, and we want to help 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 label is searching for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is whether a game can reach a meaningful emotional space and linger with players after the console is turned off.
"Emotional" can be joyful, chaotic, funny, or even bittersweet—what matters is the lasting impact. While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar projects, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger endeavors. Xue explained that the studio is "quite flexible" regarding funding and scale, supporting solo creators with bold ideas as well as larger teams with AA‑level budgets. Deal terms, such as revenue share, will be tailored to each project's needs, reflecting the studio’s own experience as developers who value fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships.
Unlike some peers that operate on a funding‑only model, Thatgamepublisher intends to be a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This integrated approach aligns with a broader industry shift toward modular publishing, where developers pick and choose services they require.
Xue noted that while modularity is useful, emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from a more cohesive partnership that ties creative development, production, positioning, marketing, and community strategy together. "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.
The overarching philosophy driving Thatgamepublisher is the belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. Chen reflected that this conviction has shaped every title Thatgamecompany has released, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
He added that the studio’s experience running Sky as a live‑service with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation has taught them how to scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their meaning. In summary, Thatgamepublisher aims to identify and nurture games that resonate on an emotional level, providing flexible funding, comprehensive support, and a partnership model that respects the creative process. By leveraging its unique audience demographics, industry expertise, and a commitment to developer‑friendly terms, the new label hopes to expand the frontier of what games can make people feel, ensuring that each project reaches its full potential while staying true to its emotional heart.