Thatgamecompany Expands with Thatgamepublisher to Support Emotionally Driven Games

Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely loved Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division named Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among independent studios that, after scoring a breakout hit, branch out into publishing or investment to uplift other indie developers. Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to support games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing and is backing projects such as Precognition by Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which formed Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small studios to channel surplus revenue back into the ecosystem that helped them succeed.

"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." When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was far from flush with cash. Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly drove the company to bankruptcy and resulted in a mass layoff of staff.

The situation is dramatically different now. Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in China, and has even spawned a feature‑film adaptation.

The game's sustained revenue stream has given Thatgamecompany the financial footing to allocate profits toward what Chen describes as "emotionally ambitious games." The distribution landscape has also shifted. Chen notes that during Journey's era, distribution channels were largely controlled by platform holders such as PlayStation.

Today, however, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can amass millions of players who become its most effective promoters, often surpassing traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in reach. This democratized distribution model gives indie studios a compelling reason to become publishers themselves, as they can leverage their own community to amplify the visibility of new games.

Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany lies in its audience demographics. 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. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though details remain under wraps.

In the official press release, Chen articulated the publisher's mission: "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 effort, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not limiting factors.

"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 explained.

"'Emotional' can mean many things," he continued. "It can be joyful, chaotic, even funny.

The through line is always, will this stay with someone after the screen goes dark? If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level projects.

Xue said the company is "quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," supporting solo creators with big ideas as well as larger teams seeking AA budgets. The financial terms, such as revenue share and recoupment, will be tailored to each project's specific needs. "As developers ourselves, we understand how important it is to build partnerships that are fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly, while giving teams the support they need to realise the strongest version of their game," he added. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development.

This contrasts with publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often provide funding only. The industry is moving toward modular publishing models, where developers can pick and choose services. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead," and that flexibility is now the norm.

Xue confirmed that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement to match a developer's needs, offering modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other support areas. Yet he also believes that emotionally ambitious projects benefit from an integrated partnership, where creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are tightly coordinated.

"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. In summary, the guiding philosophy behind Thatgamepublisher is the belief that games can forge deep emotional connections and bring out the best in people. This conviction has shaped Thatgamecompany's own catalog—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky.

By extending that ethos to other creators, the studio hopes to nurture a new wave of games that resonate on an emotional level, providing developers with the resources, expertise, and supportive partnership needed to turn their heartfelt visions into experiences that stay with players long after the console is turned off.