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 in the indie sector where studios that have achieved breakout success leverage their resources to support 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 handles titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the team behind Palworld, which opened Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the studio behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small studios to reinvest surplus revenue into projects they understand and are passionate about.
"Successful indie games are often built on shoestring budgets," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "When a title takes off, you suddenly have a cash surplus, but you don’t want to turn your tight‑knit team into a massive corporation. The logical place to put that money is into other indie projects that share your sensibilities. That's why many indie studios are becoming publishers." Thatgamecompany’s own history illustrates the stakes involved.
When Journey launched in 2012, the studio nearly went bankrupt and was forced to lay off its entire staff. Chen recalled that period in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, noting how the project pushed the company to the brink.
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 sustained revenue from Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial footing to fund what Chen calls "emotionally ambitious games"—titles that aim to move players on a deeper level than pure mechanics alone.
Chen also points out a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were largely controlled 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 can have millions of players who become its strongest distribution channel," Chen says.
"If your audience loves a certain style of game, they’ll seek out more of that style, giving you more reach than traditional media outlets." Another unique advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender reach than many competitors.
"When we showcase a game that appeals to both men and women, we tap into a highly overlapping audience, many of whom may be new to gaming altogether," Chen adds. Although specific titles have not yet been disclosed, Chen confirmed that Thatgamepublisher has already signed a few projects. In the official press release, he articulated the publisher’s mission: "When we first began making games, many questioned whether interactive experiences could affect players as profoundly as film, literature, or music.
Over the years, games have proven they can forge lifelong friendships, help people heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways. 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, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary concerns. "What matters is whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to take players there," Xue explained.
"Emotional can mean joyful, chaotic, even funny. 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, AA‑scale projects. Xue noted that the publisher’s funding model is flexible, ranging from solo developers with innovative concepts to larger teams requiring more substantial resources.
The terms of each deal—such as revenue share and recoupment—will be tailored to the specific needs of the project, reflecting the studio’s own experience as developers who value fair, transparent partnerships. 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 contrasts with other indie publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often provide only funding.
Industry observers, such as Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive, have noted that the traditional publishing model is dying in favor of modular services that developers can pick and choose. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement based on what a developer needs, whether that’s a modular arrangement focused solely on financing or a deeper partnership covering creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community building, and platform strategy. He believes that emotionally ambitious projects benefit from an integrated approach because the creative core, production pipeline, and audience outreach are tightly interwoven. Ultimately, the goal is to meet each project where it stands and shape a partnership that maximizes its potential.
Xue highlighted the company’s founding philosophy: games can connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity. This belief has guided everything Thatgamecompany has produced—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
The studio now seeks to amplify that impact by supporting other creators worldwide. "We have learned that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook," Xue said. "The heart of a project may not be obvious at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Our role is to protect that process, giving developers the space, guidance, and alignment they need to uncover 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 help new games achieve scale without sacrificing emotional depth. By understanding each game's emotional truth, building around its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher aims to help projects reach broader audiences while staying true to the feelings at their core.