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 called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful indie developers who, after achieving a breakout success, create publishing or funding arms to nurture other independent projects. In recent years, Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, started Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition—Sam Barlow’s latest effort—to its roster.
Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has opened Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the minds behind Peak, introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a broader shift in the indie ecosystem. Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the rationale: "Successful indie games are often built on shoestring budgets.
When a title takes off, the studio suddenly has excess cash but remains a small team that doesn't want to balloon into a massive corporation. The logical place to invest that money is in something you understand—other indie games. That's why many indie studios are becoming publishers." Thatgamecompany's own history illustrates the stakes. When Journey launched in 2012, the project nearly drove the studio into insolvency, forcing a mass layoff.
Chen told GamesIndustry.biz that the financial strain was severe. However, the landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in China, and even inspired a film adaptation.
The revenue generated by Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games, targeting budgets that can reach AA levels. Chen also notes a change in distribution dynamics. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the primary distribution channels. Today, distribution is largely driven by players themselves, who act as influencers.
A successful indie title can amass millions of players who become its most effective marketing engine. "If you have an audience that loves a certain style of game, they will seek out similar experiences," Chen says. "Your community can be a stronger distribution force than traditional media outlets." Another differentiator for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition. Roughly 70 % of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a reach into a demographic that many other developers lack.
Chen believes this unique overlap can help promote games that appeal to both men and women, especially those who are new to gaming. While the publisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, details remain under wraps. In the official press release, Chen articulated the publisher's mission: "When we first started making games, many doubted that interactive experiences could move people 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 convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways. Thatgamepublisher exists to help creators worldwide explore new emotional frontiers and bring those visions to life." SJ Xue, Thatgamecompany’s vice‑president of growth and corporate development and the leader of the publishing initiative, emphasizes the focus on emotional impact rather than genre or platform.
"We’re open to any team size, any development stage, even prototypes. What matters is whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to carry players there," Xue explains. He adds that "emotional" can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy, but the ultimate test is whether the experience lingers after the screen goes dark. Unlike many indie publishers that limit themselves to sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to support larger endeavors.
Xue says the studio is flexible on funding and scale, willing to work with solo creators as well as teams handling AA‑level budgets. The terms of each deal—such as revenue share and recoup structures—will be customized to fit the project's needs. "As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships," Xue notes.
Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, production planning, platform and launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with publishers like Outersloth and Evil Landfall, which often adopt a funding‑only model. The industry is moving 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," highlighting the shift toward flexible, à‑la‑carte arrangements. Xue reiterates that Thatgamepublisher can tailor its involvement: "We can be modular, focusing on funding, marketing, or specific support, but for emotionally ambitious projects we often prefer an integrated partnership.
Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly linked for these games. By staying involved across those areas, we protect the emotional core and help the team bring their vision to players." The overarching philosophy behind the publisher is simple: games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people. Chen reflects that this belief has guided every title Thatgamecompany has produced—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.
He adds that the studio recognizes the need for a broader ecosystem to explore emotional storytelling. "Our experience running Sky as a live‑service with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation shows that deeply felt experiences can scale without losing their meaning. By understanding each game's emotional truth, building community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, we aim to help every project reach farther while staying true to its heart."