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 broader industry pattern in which successful indie developers expand into publishing or funding roles to nurture other independent projects. Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which started Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the studio behind Phasmophobia, which launched Kinetic Publishing and is now supporting titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, known for Palworld, which introduced Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which created the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a growing confidence among indie studios that, after achieving a breakout success, they possess both the capital and the expertise to assist peers.
"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‑of‑people 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 bankrupted the studio, resulting in a mass layoff of staff. The situation has changed dramatically with Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019.
The game has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The financial upside of Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate profits toward what it calls "emotionally ambitious games." Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the era of Journey, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as PlayStation.
"Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he said. A successful indie title can amass millions of players who act as organic distributors, sharing the experience with friends and on social media. "You have an audience who, let's say, love friendslop games, and they're looking for other friendslop games. You actually have more influence for distribution than GameSpot, than IGN, than Steam, right?
So that's why I think today indie game studios are more likely to become publishers – they also have additional distribution reach." Another distinguishing factor for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Chen points out that roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a larger female audience than most game companies worldwide. "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 added.
Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though 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 head of the publishing initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not decisive factors. "The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us," Xue said.
"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 that "emotional" can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy, but the common thread is lasting impact: "Will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors.
"We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue said. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The terms of each publishing deal will be customized. Xue noted that, as developers themselves, they understand the need for fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements that still provide the resources needed to realize a game's full potential.
Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some newer indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only approach. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, recently told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that developers now choose specific services they require—be it marketing, console conversion assistance, or funding. Xue affirmed that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements when appropriate, but believes many emotionally driven projects benefit from an 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." Ultimately, the studio aims to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around the developer's most pressing needs. The underlying belief guiding all of this is that games have the power to forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
As Xue summed up, "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. 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."