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 among successful independent studios that, after scoring a breakout hit, branch out into publishing or financing to nurture other indie projects. Notable examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to support games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the team behind Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and now backs titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, known for Palworld, which has opened Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the studio behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a desire among small teams to reinvest excess revenue into projects they understand and care about. "Successful indie games are often built on shoestring budgets," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "When a game takes off, you suddenly have a surplus of cash, but you don’t want to turn your tight‑knit studio into a massive corporation.
The logical place to allocate those funds is into other indie ventures that share your sensibilities. That's why many indie studios are becoming publishers." Thatgamecompany's own history illustrates the stakes.
When Journey launched in 2012, the studio faced near‑bankruptcy and was forced to lay off most of its staff. Chen has recounted how the financial strain almost crippled the company. In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—especially in China—generating a film adaptation and hundreds of millions of downloads. The revenue stream from Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games, projects that aim to move players on a deeper level than typical commercial fare.
Chen also notes how distribution has shifted. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the pipeline. Today, "the distribution network belongs to the players, who are also influencers." A successful indie title can amass a community of millions who become its most effective promoters, often out‑reaching traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam itself. This democratized reach gives indie studios the confidence to act as publishers, leveraging their own audiences to amplify new releases.
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 highlight a game that appeals to both men and women, we tap into an audience that includes many people who have never played a game before," Chen says, emphasizing the potential for cross‑demographic impact. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps.
In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher's ethos: "When we first began making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could touch players as profoundly as film, literature, or music. Over the years, games have proven their capacity to forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reunite loved ones, and restore hope. Those moments convinced us that games can affect 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 lead of the publishing initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio seeks titles that "move people through play." He stressed that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is whether a game can leave a lasting emotional imprint after the screen goes dark.
"Emotional" can mean joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy—any feeling that lingers with the player. While many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger undertakings.
Xue explained that the company is flexible regarding funding and scale, welcoming solo creators with big ideas as well as teams capable of delivering AA‑level productions. Deal terms, such as revenue share and recoupment percentages, will be tailored to each project's needs, reflecting the studio's developer‑first mindset. The new label positions itself as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often provide only funding. Industry observers note a shift toward modular publishing models, where developers pick and choose services. Xue acknowledges this trend but argues that emotionally ambitious games benefit from an integrated partnership, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly aligned. "Being involved across those areas lets us protect the emotional core of the game and guide it all the way to players," he says.
Ultimately, Thatgamepublisher aims to meet each project where it stands, shaping collaborations around the developer's most pressing needs. Xue points to the company's founding belief: games can forge shared emotional experiences that bring out the best in people. He cites the studio's own portfolio—from Flow's meditative flow to Flower's poetic interaction, Journey's narrative intimacy, and Sky's communal live‑service world—as proof that games can connect hearts.
"We have learned that emotionally ambitious games often require a different playbook," Xue adds. "The heart of a project may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototyping, iteration, and quiet discovery.
Our role is to safeguard that process, providing the space, guidance, and resources needed to uncover the strongest version of the work." Drawing on years of operating Sky as a live‑service experience with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global stewardship, Thatgamepublisher believes it can help other creators scale their visions without diluting their emotional impact. By understanding each game's emotional truth, building from its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher hopes to enable projects to reach wider audiences while staying true to the feelings at their core.