Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the more recent Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the formation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful independent studios that, after scoring a breakout hit, choose to leverage their newfound resources to support other indie developers. 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 to reinvest profits into projects that share a similar artistic vision.
"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‑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." The financial reality was starkly different when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted that the game's development nearly bankrupted the studio, resulting in a wave of layoffs.
Fast forward to today, Sky: Children of the Light—released in 2019—has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The sustained revenue from Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the latitude to fund what it describes as "emotionally ambitious games" with budgets that can stretch into the AA range.
Chen also notes a shift in how games reach players. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform owners like Sony. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says.
A successful indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who become organic promoters, often eclipsing traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in terms of reach. This democratization of distribution fuels the confidence of indie studios to step into publishing roles, knowing they can tap into a ready‑made audience.
Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. "We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," Chen points out, citing that roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base identifies as female. This gender‑balanced community opens the door for games that appeal to both men and women, especially titles that attract newcomers to gaming.
While specific projects under Thatgamepublisher remain under wraps, the publisher’s mission statement, released in a press announcement, emphasizes a commitment to emotionally resonant experiences: "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 initiative, elaborates on the type of projects they seek. "We are looking for titles that move people through play," he says.
"The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us. 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 clarifies that "emotional" can encompass a wide spectrum—joy, chaos, humor, melancholy—as long as the experience lingers after the console is turned off. This philosophy informs the publisher’s flexible funding model.
While many indie publishers limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue notes.
"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 negotiated on a case‑by‑case basis, with an emphasis on fairness and transparency. "As developers ourselves, we understand how important it is to build partnerships that are developer‑friendly while giving teams the support they need to realize the strongest version of their game," Xue adds. Unlike some peers that operate on a funding‑only basis, Thatgamepublisher intends to function as a full‑service publisher. Its suite of services includes financing, production planning, platform and launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This holistic approach mirrors a broader industry shift away from the traditional, monolithic publishing model toward modular, à‑la‑carte offerings. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, has observed that "the old school publishing model is dead," and developers now choose the exact services they require, be it marketing, console porting assistance, or pure capital.
Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can tailor its involvement accordingly. "We can be flexible depending on what a developer and project need, including modular arrangements around funding, marketing, or other specific support. That being said, we believe the kinds of games we want to work with often benefit from a more 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 publisher’s goal is to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. Xue emphasizes the underlying philosophy: "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. 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." Drawing on years of operating Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamepublisher claims to understand how to scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their impact. By focusing on the emotional truth of each game, nurturing its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the new publishing arm aims to help indie developers reach wider audiences while staying true to the heart of their creations.