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 in the independent game sector where studios that have scored a breakout success expand into publishing or financing roles to uplift other indie developers.
For example, Innersloth, the creators of the viral sensation Among Us, launched Outersloth in 2024 and has already backed projects like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games—known for the horror phenomenon Phasmophobia—started Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition, the latest work from Sam Barlow of Immortality fame, to its roster. Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, introduced Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, debuted the Evil Landfall label.
The trend underscores a shift toward indie studios leveraging their financial windfalls to become patrons of the broader creative community. "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‑person 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 recalled to GamesIndustry.biz that the project nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy and forced a mass layoff of staff.
In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—particularly in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate funds toward what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games, a term that captures experiences aiming to move players on a deeper, more personal level. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like Sony.
"Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says. A successful indie title can now attract millions of players who act as organic promoters, often wielding more sway than traditional media outlets such as 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 distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Chen points out that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a larger female audience than most game companies worldwide.
This unique overlap means that a game appealing to both men and women could resonate strongly with a community that includes many newcomers to gaming. While the publisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, details remain under wraps.
In its launch statement, Chen articulated the philosophical foundation of Thatgamepublisher: "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 lead of the publishing initiative, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is searching for titles 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 explained.
"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." According to Xue, "emotional" can encompass a wide spectrum—from joy and chaos to humor—so long as the experience lingers after the console is turned off. He added that many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, but Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level projects. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," he said.
"We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The specifics of each publishing agreement, such as revenue share and recoupment terms, will be tailored to the individual project's needs. Xue highlighted that, as developers themselves, Thatgamecompany understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that provide the resources necessary to realize a game's fullest potential. Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with other indie publishers like Outersloth and Evil Landfall, which often adopt a funding‑only model.
The industry is moving toward modular publishing arrangements, where developers can select specific services—such as console porting, marketing support, or funding—based on their needs. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that flexibility is now the norm.
Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement to suit each developer, offering modular options for funding, marketing, or other support. However, he also noted that emotionally driven projects often benefit from a more integrated partnership, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community engagement, and platform strategy are tightly interwoven.
"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 said. Ultimately, the publisher aims to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. Xue summed up the company's guiding philosophy: "Games can connect people through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in us." He traced this belief back to Thatgamecompany's own catalogue—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—while acknowledging that the creative frontier extends far beyond a single 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 said. Drawing on years of experience running Sky: Children of the Light as an emotional live‑service game with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher believes it can guide new projects to scale without sacrificing the intimate, heartfelt experiences at their core. By understanding each game's emotional truth, building on its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher hopes to help every partnered title reach a wider audience while staying true to the feeling that inspired it.