Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division named Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern in the indie sector where studios that have scored a breakout success leverage their newfound resources to become publishers or investors for other independent developers. Notable examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to fund games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the studio behind Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and is backing projects such as Precognition by Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, known for Palworld, which now operates Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a desire among small, successful teams to reinvest surplus capital into projects that share their artistic sensibilities. Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the logic behind the shift: "When an indie title that was built on a shoestring budget suddenly generates a large amount of revenue, the studio often faces a dilemma.
You don’t want to balloon into a massive corporation overnight, yet you have cash that needs to be allocated wisely. The most natural place to invest is in other indie games that you understand and care about, because you can apply the same design philosophy and values that made your own work successful." He recalls that the studio’s earlier effort, Journey, released in 2012, nearly bankrupted the company and forced a wave of layoffs.
The experience taught the team that financial windfalls must be handled strategically. The landscape has shifted dramatically since Journey’s troubled launch. Sky: Children of the Light, which debuted in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The massive player base—estimated at over 300 million downloads—has generated a steady stream of revenue that now enables Thatgamecompany to fund what it terms "emotionally ambitious" games, projects that aim to touch players on a deeper, more personal level.
Chen also points out a fundamental change in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform owners such as Sony’s PlayStation Network. 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 fans who become its most powerful distribution engine," Chen says. "When you have an audience that loves a certain type of experience, you can leverage that community to spotlight other games that share a similar emotional tone." Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many other developers. Chen believes this unique audience overlap can be a valuable asset when promoting new titles that aim to appeal to both men and women, especially those who may be new to gaming altogether.
Although Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, the studio has kept the specifics under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher’s overarching mission: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move people as profoundly as film, literature, or music.
Over the years we have seen games 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 initiative, emphasizes that the studio is looking for games that "move people through play." He stresses that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is whether a game can linger in a player’s memory after the console is turned off.
"Emotional" can mean joy, chaos, humor, or even melancholy—the common thread is lasting impact. Unlike many indie publishers that focus primarily on sub‑$1 million budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level projects.
Xue explains that the terms of each deal will be tailored to the needs of the developer, covering aspects such as revenue share, funding structure, and support services. "As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent partnerships that give creators the freedom to realize the strongest version of their game," he says. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term intellectual‑property development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which have largely adopted a funding‑only model.
Industry observers note a broader shift toward modular publishing, where developers can pick and choose the services they need. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive summed it up: "The old school publishing model is dead; today developers select the exact pieces—marketing, console ports, funding, or all of the above—that fit their roadmap." Xue reiterates that Thatgamepublisher can be equally flexible, offering modular arrangements when appropriate, but often prefers an integrated partnership for emotionally driven projects. He explains that creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community engagement, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven for games that aim to evoke strong feelings.
By staying involved across these domains, the publisher can protect the emotional core of the title and guide it from concept to player. When asked why developers should consider signing with Thatgamepublisher, Xue points to the studio’s founding philosophy: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity.
He notes that this belief has shaped every Thatgamecompany title—from the meditative flow of Flow to the delicate bloom of Flower, the pilgrimage of Journey, and the communal sky‑borne adventure of Sky. "We have learned that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook. Their heart may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Our role is to safeguard that process, providing developers with space, guidance, and alignment to uncover the strongest expression of their vision." Drawing on its own experience running Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title with hundreds of millions of downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher claims to understand how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their meaning. "By listening to the emotional truth of each game, building from its 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," Xue concludes. In summary, Thatgamepublisher represents Thatgamecompany’s evolution from a small indie studio into a full‑service publishing house dedicated to nurturing games that strive for emotional depth. With flexible funding, a commitment to developer‑friendly terms, and a proven track record of creating experiences that resonate worldwide, the new label aims to empower a new generation of creators to explore the emotional possibilities of interactive media.