Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely acclaimed 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, establish publishing or funding arms to nurture 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 titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small studios to reinvest surplus revenue back into the indie ecosystem. "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," explains Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany. "But then you are a small team making games, you don't want to suddenly become a thousands‑person 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, the studio was far from flush with cash. Chen has recounted that the project nearly drove the company into bankruptcy, resulting in a wave of layoffs. The situation has shifted dramatically since the release of Sky: Children of the Light in 2019.
The game has performed exceptionally well worldwide, especially in China, and even inspired a feature film. The financial windfall now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate profits toward what it calls "emotionally ambitious games," projects that aim to touch players on a deeper level. Chen also notes a fundamental change in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like Sony.
Today, the distribution network is largely owned by the players themselves, who act as influencers and word‑of‑mouth marketers. "A successful indie title could have millions of players, who are your strongest distribution," he says.
"You have an audience who love a certain type of game and are looking for more of it. You actually have more influence for distribution than GameSpot, than IGN, than Steam, right? That's why indie studios are more likely to become publishers – they also have additional distribution reach." Another distinctive factor for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach.
Chen points out that roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many of its peers. "If we promote a game that appeals to both men and women, our audience offers a unique overlap because many of our players have never played games before," he explains. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps. In the official press release, Chen outlined 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 lead of the publishing effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the company is searching for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary concerns. "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 elaborated 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 willing to support 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 tailored to the project's needs. Xue highlighted that, as developers themselves, they understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements that give teams the resources to realize the strongest version of their game.
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 other indie publishers that often provide only funding or adopt a modular service model.
Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now choose the specific services they require—whether that’s marketing, console conversion assistance, or full‑scale support. Xue confirmed that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements when appropriate, but believes that emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from an integrated partnership. By staying involved across creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy, the publisher aims to protect the game's emotional core and guide it from concept to player.
Ultimately, the goal is to meet each project where it is and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. Xue summed up the motivation behind the venture: "Games can connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in us. That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
We 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."