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 named Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern in the indie sector where studios that have achieved breakout success leverage their newfound resources to nurture other independent developers. In recent years, several well‑known indie creators have taken similar steps: Innersloth, famous for the viral phenomenon Among Us, launched Outersloth in 2024 and is now backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the team behind Phasmophobia, introduced Kinetic Publishing, which already includes titles such as Precognition, the latest brain‑teaser from Sam Barlow’s Immortality series; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, started Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, known for Peak, unveiled the Evil Landfall label.
The trend reflects a broader shift in how indie studios think about growth and sustainability. "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." When Journey launched in 2012, Thatgamecompany was far from flush with cash.
Chen has recounted that the development of Journey nearly pushed the studio to the brink of bankruptcy, resulting in a wave of layoffs across the company. The financial picture has transformed dramatically since those lean days. 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 stream from Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate profits toward what Chen describes as "emotionally ambitious games," a term that captures the studio’s core philosophy of creating interactive experiences that resonate on a deep, personal level.
Chen also highlights a shift in how games reach players. In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as Sony’s PlayStation network. Today, the distribution landscape is largely shaped by the players themselves—streamers, social media influencers, and community creators who act as organic marketers.
"A successful indie title could have millions of players, who are your strongest distribution," Chen notes. "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 audience composition.
Chen points out that roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender reach than many of its peers. "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," he says. This demographic insight informs the kinds of projects Thatgamepublisher hopes to champion—titles that can speak to a diverse, often under‑represented segment of gamers. While the publisher has not yet disclosed the specific titles it has signed, Chen shared a concise vision statement in the official press release: "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 initiative, elaborated on the type of projects the new label seeks. "We are looking for titles that move people through play," Xue told GamesIndustry.biz.
"The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us. 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." Xue further clarified that "emotional" can encompass a wide spectrum: joy, chaos, humor, melancholy, or even awe. The common thread, he says, is the lingering impact after the console is turned off. "If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." Most indie publishers concentrate on modest budgets—often under $1 million—but Thatgamepublisher intends to be more flexible.
"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 financial terms of each deal will be tailored to the individual project's needs.
Xue emphasized that, as developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships. This philosophy extends to the suite of services Thatgamepublisher will provide. Unlike some publishers that operate on a funding‑only model, Thatgamepublisher aims to be a full‑service partner, offering assistance with production planning, platform strategy, launch execution, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This integrated approach mirrors a broader industry shift away from the traditional, rigid publishing contracts toward modular arrangements where developers can select the exact support they require—whether that be marketing, console porting, or full‑scale production assistance.
Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, recently remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead," underscoring the move toward more collaborative, bespoke relationships. Xue echoed this sentiment, noting that while modularity is valuable, emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from a more cohesive partnership that ties together creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community building, and platform strategy. By staying involved across these domains, Thatgamepublisher believes it can protect the emotional core of a game and help the team bring that vision to a global audience. When asked why developers should consider signing with Thatgamepublisher, Xue pointed back to the studio’s founding belief: games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences and draw out the best in humanity.
"That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky: Children of the Light. But we also know this path is bigger than the work of one 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 added that emotionally ambitious games often follow a non‑linear development path, with their heart emerging through prototypes, iteration, and quiet discoveries.
"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 explained. Drawing on the experience of operating Sky: Children of the Light—a live‑service title with more than 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation—Thatgamepublisher claims to understand how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact.
In summary, Thatgamepublisher positions itself as a compassionate, flexible, and fully equipped partner for indie creators who aspire to craft games that linger in players’ minds long after the screen goes dark. By leveraging its own emotional design heritage, a diverse player base, and a comprehensive service offering, the new label aims to nurture the next generation of games that move people in meaningful ways.