Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent hit 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, after scoring a breakout success, begin to diversify into publishing or funding roles to uplift other indie developers.
Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which in 2024 backed games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a broader shift where creators with deep industry knowledge leverage excess capital to nurture the next wave of innovative experiences. Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the logic behind the transition: "Successful indie games are often built on a shoestring budget. When a title takes off, you suddenly have cash you didn’t anticipate, but you don’t want to balloon into a massive corporation.
The most sensible way to deploy those funds is to invest in projects you understand and love – other indie games." Chen notes that this approach allows a small team to stay true to its creative roots while still contributing to the ecosystem. The financial picture was dramatically different when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted that the project nearly bankrupted the studio, forcing a wave of layoffs. Fast forward to the present, and Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—especially in China—and even inspired a feature film.
The revenue generated by Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to fund what it describes as "emotionally ambitious" games, a phrase that captures the studio’s long‑standing commitment to experiences that resonate on a personal level. Chen also highlights how the distribution landscape has evolved. In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the channels through which games reached players. Today, the distribution network is effectively owned by the audience itself, with influencers and community leaders acting as powerful conduits.
"A successful indie title can have millions of players who become its strongest distribution engine," Chen says. "Your fans can spread the word more effectively than traditional media outlets." Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany lies in its audience demographics. Roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a reach into a segment that many developers overlook. Chen believes that promoting games with broad gender appeal can create a unique overlap, attracting both seasoned gamers and newcomers who have never played before.
While the exact slate of games Thatgamepublisher will support remains under wraps, Chen shared the publisher’s core philosophy in a press release: "When we first started making games, many questioned 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 convinced us that games can touch lives in profound ways.
Thatgamepublisher exists because we believe countless creators worldwide are exploring new emotional frontiers, 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 initiative, elaborates on the type of projects the studio seeks. He emphasizes that genre, platform, or team size are secondary to the emotional impact a game can deliver.
"We’re open to any team, any stage of development, even prototypes," Xue says. "What matters is whether the experience stays with someone after the screen goes dark.
If a game aims for that lingering feeling, we want to talk." Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑$1 million budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑scale endeavors. Xue explains that the terms of each deal—such as revenue share and recoupment—will be customized to suit the project’s needs.
"As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships," he adds. The new label will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering funding, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a modular, funding‑only model.
Industry observer Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive notes that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now pick and choose the services they require—be it marketing, console ports, or financial backing. Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can provide flexible, modular arrangements tailored to each developer’s needs, but he also stresses that many emotionally driven projects benefit from an integrated partnership.
By staying involved across creative development, production, positioning, and community outreach, the publisher aims to protect the game’s emotional core and guide it from concept to player. Ultimately, the goal is to meet each project where it stands and shape the collaboration around what will be most useful for the developer. Xue points to the studio’s founding belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
"That belief has shaped everything we’ve made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—but we know the journey is bigger than any single studio. Creators around the world are pushing the boundaries of what games can make us feel, and we want to help those ideas reach players." He adds that emotionally ambitious games often follow a non‑linear development path, emerging through prototypes, iteration, and quiet discoveries. Thatgamepublisher’s role is to safeguard that process, providing resources, guidance, and a supportive infrastructure while allowing the creative team the freedom to explore.
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 can scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their meaning. By understanding each game’s emotional truth, building on its community, and letting genuine resonance drive growth, the publisher aims to help projects reach wider audiences while staying true to the feelings at their core.