Thatgamecompany Launches Thatgamepublisher to Support Emotionally Driven Games

Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed developer behind 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 successful indie studios that, after achieving a breakout hit, expand into publishing or funding to uplift other independent creators. In recent years, Innersloth, the team behind Among Us, started Outersloth in 2024, backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, launched Kinetic Publishing with a slate that includes Precognition from Sam Barlow’s Immortality team.

Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, introduced Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the creators of Peak, rolled out the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a broader shift in the industry.

"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." The financial reality was stark when Journey launched in 2012. Chen told GamesIndustry.biz that the project's development nearly bankrupted the studio and forced a wave of layoffs.

Fast forward to 2019, Sky: Children of the Light has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the latitude to channel profits into what they term "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also points out a shift in distribution dynamics.

In the early 2010s, platforms like PlayStation controlled the primary channels for indie releases. Today, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can amass millions of players who act as organic promoters, often out‑reaching traditional media outlets such as GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam's editorial space. This democratization of reach empowers studios to become publishers themselves, leveraging their own community as a distribution engine. Another unique advantage Thatgamecompany brings is its predominantly female audience.

Chen notes that roughly 70% of Sky’s player base identifies as female, a demographic that many other developers struggle to attract at scale. "If we promote a game that appeals to both men and women, our audience offers a rare overlap because many of our players are newcomers to gaming," he says. While Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, the titles remain under wraps.

In the official press release, Chen articulated the publisher's ethos: "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, elaborated to GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is hunting for games that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are secondary to the emotional resonance of the experience. "The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us," Xue said. "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—as long as the experience lingers after the console is turned off.

This philosophy informs the publisher's flexible funding model. While many indie publishers focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger, AA‑level endeavors.

"We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue noted. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The terms of each deal will be tailored to the project's needs.

As developers themselves, Thatgamecompany understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements. The publisher aims to provide a full‑service suite—including financing, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development—while allowing developers to pick and choose services in a modular fashion. This contrasts with other indie publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often limit themselves to funding only. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, recently told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead," and modern developers prefer to assemble bespoke packages of support.

Xue echoed this sentiment, stating that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement to match each project's specific requirements, whether that means a simple funding boost or a comprehensive partnership covering creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community building, and platform rollout. The ultimate goal, according to Xue, is to meet developers where they are and shape a partnership that maximizes the game's emotional impact.

"That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made, from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky: Children of the Light," he said. "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." Drawing on their 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 guide other studios in scaling emotionally resonant experiences without diluting their core feeling. By focusing on the "emotional truth" of each game, nurturing its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, Thatgamepublisher aims to help projects reach broader audiences while staying true to the heart of the experience. In summary, Thatgamepublisher represents a strategic evolution for Thatgamecompany: a shift from solely creating emotionally driven games to fostering a broader ecosystem of indie developers who share that vision. With flexible funding, full‑service support, and a deep understanding of how to craft and sustain emotional connections in interactive media, the new label is positioned to become a catalyst for the next generation of games that move players in meaningful, lasting ways.