Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed studio behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has taken a significant step beyond pure development by unveiling its own publishing division, dubbed Thatgamepublisher. This move mirrors a broader industry pattern where successful independent studios leverage their newfound financial clout to nurture other indie creators. Recent examples include Innersloth, the developers of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which introduced Kinetic Publishing with projects such as Precognition by Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the makers of Palworld, which started Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the studio behind Peak, which created the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a growing belief that the most natural way for a small, creative team to reinvest surplus capital is by supporting peers whose visions align with their own. "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 project's development nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy, forcing a mass layoff of staff.
In contrast, 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 ability to allocate profits toward what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games, a phrase that encapsulates titles that aim to evoke deep, lasting feelings rather than merely entertain.
Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as Sony. Today, however, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who act as organic marketers, sharing experiences on social media, streaming platforms, and community forums.
"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," Chen adds. Another distinctive advantage Thatgamecompany brings to the table is its demographic reach.
Roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a uniquely balanced audience compared with many other developers. "If we promote or feature a game that would be appealing to men and women equally, our audience is going to have a very unique overlap, because there are many of our players who have never played games before," Chen explains, highlighting the potential for titles that resonate across gender lines. While Thatgamepublisher has kept its initial slate under wraps, Chen confirmed that the label has already signed a "couple" of projects. The publisher's mission statement, released alongside the announcement, reads: "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, elaborated on the type of projects the studio is seeking. "The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us," Xue told GamesIndustry.biz.
"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 continued, "'Emotional' can mean many things.
It can be joyful, chaotic, even funny. The through line is always, will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." This philosophy translates into a flexible funding model.
While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger, AA‑level 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 specific needs of the developer. Xue emphasized that, as former developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements. They aim to provide the right amount of support without imposing restrictive conditions, allowing creators to retain the core vision of their work.
Unlike some peers that operate on a funding‑only basis, Thatgamepublisher will function as a full‑service publisher. Its offerings include not just capital, but also production planning, platform strategy, launch coordination, marketing, community management, and long‑term intellectual‑property development. This comprehensive approach reflects a broader industry shift away from the "old school" publishing model toward modular, à‑la‑carte services.
Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, observed earlier this year that "the old school publishing model is dead," noting that developers now prefer to pick and choose the services they need—whether it's marketing, console porting assistance, or funding. Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement based on each project's requirements, offering modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other specific support. However, he also highlighted that emotionally ambitious games 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 overarching rationale for developers to partner with Thatgamepublisher lies in the studio's founding belief: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in humanity. This conviction has guided Thatgamecompany's own catalog—from the meditative flow of Flow and the delicate beauty of Flower to the pilgrimage of Journey and the communal wonder of Sky.
"We learned from our own work that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook. The heart of a project is not always easy to define at the beginning. It can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Our role is to help protect that process, giving developers the room, guidance, and alignment they need to discover the strongest version of their work," Xue said. Drawing on their experience operating Sky as a live‑service title with more than 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, the team believes they understand 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. In summary, Thatgamepublisher represents a new kind of indie publisher—one that blends financial backing with deep creative partnership, all anchored in a mission to champion games that move players on an emotional level. As the indie ecosystem continues to mature, such full‑service, emotionally focused publishing houses may become key catalysts for the next wave of groundbreaking interactive experiences.