Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among independent studios that have scored a breakout hit and then leverage their newfound resources to support other indie developers. Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and is now handling titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which introduced Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which formed the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a desire among small teams to reinvest surplus earnings into projects that share their artistic sensibilities. "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." When Journey launched in 2012, Thatgamecompany was far from flush with cash. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly bankrupted the studio, resulting in a mass layoff of staff. The situation is dramatically different 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. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial bandwidth to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious games" at budgets that can reach AA levels.
Chen also notes that the landscape for distribution has shifted. In the era of Journey, distribution channels were controlled by platform holders such as Sony. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says. A successful indie title can amass millions of players who become organic promoters, effectively becoming the most powerful marketing engine—far surpassing traditional outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam.
"You have an audience who, let's say, love friendslop games, and they're looking for other friendslop games. You actually have more influence for distribution than GameSpot, than IGN, than Steam, right? So that's why I think today indie game studios are more likely to become publishers – they also have additional distribution reach." Another unique advantage Thatgamecompany brings is its demographic reach.
Chen points out that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a considerably larger female audience than most game companies. This gender balance allows the publisher to spotlight titles that appeal equally to men and women, many of whom may be new to gaming.
While specific titles have not yet been disclosed, Chen confirmed that Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects. In a press release, he articulated the publisher's mission: "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 leader of the publishing effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is searching for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary concerns. "The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us," Xue said. "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." He added that "emotional" can encompass a broad spectrum—joy, chaos, humor—as long as the experience lingers after the console is turned off. "If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger endeavors.
Xue explained that the company is "quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," welcoming solo creators with visionary ideas as well as larger teams pursuing AA‑level productions. The financial terms, such as revenue share and recoupment percentages, will be tailored to each project's specific needs.
"As developers ourselves, we understand how important it is to build partnerships that are fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly, while giving teams the support they need to realise the strongest version of their game," Xue said. Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, launch execution, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.
This comprehensive approach contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which have largely adopted a funding‑only model. Industry observers note a shift toward modular publishing, where developers can pick and choose services. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that the new paradigm allows creators to select exactly the support they require.
Xue affirmed that Thatgamepublisher can accommodate modular arrangements but believes that emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from an 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," he explained. The publisher's philosophy centers on the belief that games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people.
Xue summarized this ethos: "That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky: Children of the Light. 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." He highlighted that emotionally driven games often require a different development playbook.
The heart of such a project may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototyping, iteration, quiet discovery, and the right creative conversations. Thatgamepublisher aims to protect that process, offering developers the space, guidance, and alignment needed to 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 heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. "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," Xue concluded.