Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the formation of a new publishing division named Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful indie developers who, after scoring a breakout hit, create publishing arms to nurture other independent projects. Examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which backed Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label.
Co‑founder Jenova Chen explains that the trend is driven by a simple financial reality: “When an indie game that was made on a shoestring budget becomes a massive success, you suddenly have excess cash. Yet you don’t want to balloon your own studio into a thousand‑person operation.
The logical place to invest that money is in something you understand—other indie games.” Chen recalls that Journey’s development nearly bankrupted the studio in 2012, forcing a wave of layoffs. By contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, launched in 2019, has generated enormous revenue, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature film. The profits now enable Thatgamecompany to fund what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games.
Chen also notes a shift in distribution power. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the pipeline; today, the audience itself—through social media, streaming, and word‑of‑mouth—acts as the primary distributor. "A successful indie title can reach millions of players who become your strongest marketing engine," he says.
This democratized reach means indie studios can leverage their own fanbases to promote other games, often more effectively than traditional media outlets. Another unique advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender reach than many competitors. Chen believes this creates an opportunity to champion games that appeal equally to men and women, especially those that may attract newcomers to gaming.
Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher’s philosophy: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move players as deeply as film, literature, or music. Over the years, we’ve seen games forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope.
Those moments prove that games can touch lives profoundly. Thatgamepublisher exists to help creators around the world explore new emotional frontiers and bring those visions to life." SJ Xue, Thatgamecompany’s vice‑president of growth and corporate development and the lead of the publishing initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the label is looking for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are irrelevant; what matters is whether a game can reach a meaningful emotional space and linger with players after the console is turned off.
"Emotional" can be joyful, chaotic, funny, or even bittersweet, but the core question is whether the experience stays with someone once the screen goes dark. While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar projects, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger, AA‑scale endeavors.
Xue explained that the studio is flexible on funding amounts and will tailor deal terms—such as revenue share and recoup structures—to each project's needs. "As developers ourselves, we know how crucial fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships are," he said.
Unlike some peers that operate purely as funding sources, Thatgamepublisher will function as a full‑service publisher, offering production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This integrated approach mirrors a broader industry shift away from the traditional, rigid publishing model toward modular services that developers can pick and choose. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive described the old model as "dead," noting that modern publishers now let creators select only the support they require—be it marketing, console porting, or financing.
Xue confirmed that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements but believes emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from a holistic partnership that safeguards the game's core feeling throughout development, launch, and post‑launch support. The ultimate pitch to developers centers on Thatgamecompany’s founding belief: games can forge shared emotional experiences that bring out the best in people. Chen reflected that this conviction has guided every title the studio has released, from the meditative Flow to the communal Journey and the expansive Sky.
He added that the studio’s experience running Sky as a live‑service with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation equips them to help other creators scale without diluting the emotional impact. In summary, Thatgamepublisher aims to identify and nurture games that prioritize emotional resonance, offering flexible financing, comprehensive publishing services, and a partnership mindset rooted in empathy and creative freedom. By leveraging its unique audience demographics, extensive live‑service expertise, and a philosophy that values feeling over formula, the new label hopes to expand the frontier of what interactive entertainment can achieve for players worldwide.