Thatgamecompany Expands Into Publishing with Thatgamepublisher to Support Emotionally Driven Games

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 breakout success, create publishing arms to back other independent projects. Examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing, and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall, among others.

Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the motivation behind the trend: "When an indie game that started on a shoestring budget becomes a massive success, you suddenly have a surplus of cash. Yet you don’t want to balloon your studio into a thousand‑person operation. Instead, you look for ways to invest that money in areas you understand best—other indie games.

It feels like a natural progression for many small studios." The financial reality was starkly different when Journey launched in 2012. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the project nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy, resulting in a wave of layoffs.

In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has generated a steady stream of revenue, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The profits from Sky now give Thatgamecompany the resources to pursue what Chen calls "emotionally ambitious games" with budgets that can reach AA levels. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences.

In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders like PlayStation. Today, distribution is largely player‑driven, with influencers and community creators acting as the primary conduit for discovery. "A successful indie title can amass millions of players who become its strongest marketing engine," Chen says.

"Your audience can be more influential than traditional outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam." Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Roughly 70% of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a unique gender balance compared to many other developers. Chen believes this broad appeal allows Thatgamepublisher to promote games that resonate with both men and women, especially titles that attract newcomers to gaming. While the publisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, details remain under wraps.

In a press release, Chen outlined the philosophical foundation of Thatgamepublisher: "When we first started making games, many questioned whether interactive experiences could move people as profoundly as film, literature, or music. Over the years, we’ve seen games forge lifelong friendships, help players heal personal struggles, reconnect families, and restore hope.

Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in deep, lasting 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 that the studio is looking for games that "move people through play" regardless of genre, platform, or development stage.

"We are open to any team size, from solo creators with bold ideas to larger groups capable of AA‑budget productions. What matters is whether the game can reach meaningful emotional territory and stay with the player after the screen goes dark," Xue explains. He adds that emotional impact can take many forms—joy, chaos, humor—and the key question is whether the experience lingers in the player's memory.

Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, more ambitious projects. Xue says the terms of each deal, including revenue splits and recoup structures, will be customized to fit the specific needs of the developer. "As developers ourselves, we understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships," he notes.

Thatgamepublisher 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 provide only financing. The industry is moving toward modular publishing models where developers can pick and choose services such as marketing, console porting, or funding. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive has described the old‑school publishing model as "dead," highlighting the new flexibility developers now expect.

Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can adopt modular arrangements when appropriate, but believes many emotionally driven projects benefit from an integrated partnership that aligns creative development, production, positioning, and community outreach. The ultimate goal, according to Xue, is to meet each project where it stands and shape a partnership that maximizes its potential.

He points to the studio’s core belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. "That belief has shaped everything we’ve created—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. Yet we know the emotional frontier extends far beyond our own studio.

Around the world, creators are pushing the boundaries of what games can make us feel, and we want to help those ideas reach players." He further explains that emotionally ambitious games often require a different development playbook. The heart of a project may not be evident at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and collaborative conversations. Thatgamepublisher’s role is to protect that creative process, providing resources, guidance, and alignment while allowing developers the freedom to refine their vision.

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—Thatgamepublisher believes it can scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their core emotional impact. By understanding each game's emotional truth, building on its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the publisher aims to help projects reach wider audiences while staying true to the feelings at their core.

This commitment to emotional authenticity, combined with flexible funding and full‑service support, positions Thatgamepublisher as a distinctive new player in the indie publishing landscape.