Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move mirrors a broader pattern in the indie sector where studios that have scored a breakout success leverage their newfound resources to back other independent developers.
Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which backed games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to Sam Barlow’s latest Precognition; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label. Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains that the trend is almost inevitable: "When an indie title that was built on a shoestring budget becomes a runaway hit, you suddenly have a surplus of cash. The studio is still small, you don’t want to balloon into a thousand‑person operation, so you look for ways to invest that money in areas you understand. Supporting other indie projects is a natural fit." The financial picture was very different when Journey launched in 2012.
Chen has said that the game nearly bankrupted the studio and forced a wave of layoffs. Fast forward to today, and Sky: Children of the Light—released in 2019—has become a massive commercial success, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The profits from Sky now give Thatgamecompany the bandwidth to fund what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games.
Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like Sony. "Now the distribution network belongs to the players themselves, who act as influencers," he says.
A popular indie title can amass millions of fans who become its most effective marketing engine, often surpassing traditional outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam. Another unique advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a larger female audience than most game companies worldwide. Chen believes that promoting titles that appeal equally to men and women can create a distinctive overlap, especially because many of their players are newcomers to gaming.
Thatgamepublisher has already signed a few projects, though the specifics remain under wraps. In the launch announcement, Chen articulated the publisher’s philosophy: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move people as deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years games have proved otherwise—forming lifelong friendships, healing personal struggles, reconnecting loved ones, and restoring hope. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives profoundly.
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 effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not decisive factors. "We are open to any team, any stage of development, even prototypes. What matters is whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to carry players there," Xue said. "'Emotional' can be joyful, chaotic, or funny—the key question is: will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark?
If a game is chasing that, we want to talk." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar projects, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger ambitions. Xue explained that the label is "quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," welcoming solo creators with big ideas as well as teams capable of handling AA‑level budgets.
The financial terms, including revenue share and recoupment percentages, will be tailored to each project's needs. "As developers ourselves, we understand how vital fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships are," he added. Unlike some peers that operate solely as funding sources, Thatgamepublisher is launching as a full‑service publisher.
It will provide financing, production planning, platform and launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with the modular models adopted by Outersloth or Evil Landfall, where developers pick and choose services.
Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive summed up the industry shift: "The old school publishing model is dead; today developers select the services they need—be it marketing, console conversion, or funding—rather than signing over everything." Xue echoed this sentiment, noting that Thatgamepublisher can offer modular arrangements but often prefers an integrated partnership for emotionally driven projects, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven. The core motivation for developers to join Thatgamepublisher, Xue argues, lies in the studio’s founding belief: games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
"That belief has shaped everything we’ve made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. Yet we know the journey is larger than any single studio. Creators worldwide are pushing the emotional boundaries of the medium, and we want to help those ideas reach players," he said. He further explained that emotionally ambitious games often require a different playbook.
The heart of such a project may not be obvious at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations. Thatgamepublisher’s role is to protect that process, offering space, guidance, and alignment so developers can uncover the strongest version of their work. Drawing on its experience running Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamecompany believes it understands how to scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their meaning. By grounding each project in its emotional truth, building community around it, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher aims to help every game reach a wider audience while staying true to its core feeling.