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 independent developers who, after achieving breakout success, branch out into publishing or funding to nurture other indie projects. In recent years, Innersloth, the creators of the viral phenomenon Among Us, launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook.
Earlier this year, Kinetic Games—known for the horror hit Phasmophobia—started Kinetic Publishing, adding titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow’s Immortality team to its roster. Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, introduced Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the minds behind Peak, rolled out the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a broader shift in the industry, where creators with a proven hit leverage their resources to uplift fellow developers.
"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." Thatgamecompany’s own journey illustrates why the studio feels uniquely qualified to act as a patron of emotionally resonant games. When Journey launched in 2012, the project nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy, forcing a massive staff reduction.
Chen has recounted that period as a painful learning experience that taught the team the limits of operating on a shoestring budget. Fast forward to 2019, Sky: Children of the Light became a worldwide phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation.
The financial windfall from Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the flexibility to allocate profits toward what Chen describes as "emotionally ambitious games." Chen also notes that the landscape of distribution has shifted dramatically. In the era of Journey, platform owners such as Sony controlled the primary channels for reaching players. Today, however, "the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers." A successful indie title can amass millions of dedicated fans who act as organic promoters, often out‑reaching traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam’s own recommendation algorithms. This democratization of reach means indie studios can more easily transition into publishing roles, leveraging their own community as a powerful launchpad for new experiences.
Another distinctive advantage Thatgamecompany brings to the table is its audience demographic. Chen points out that roughly 70 % of Sky’s player base is female—a figure that far exceeds the industry average. "We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," he says.
"If we promote a game that appeals to both men and women, our audience will have a unique overlap, because many of our players have never played games before." While the studio has not yet disclosed the specific titles it has signed, Chen confirmed that Thatgamepublisher already has a "couple" of projects under contract. In a press release, he articulated the publisher’s guiding philosophy: "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 effort, emphasized that the label is looking for games that "move people through play." He clarified that genre, platform, or team size are not primary criteria. "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. The definition of "emotional" is deliberately broad.
Xue says it can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or any feeling that lingers after the console is turned off. "If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation," he adds. While many indie publishers focus on sub‑$1 million budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger, AA‑level projects. "We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue noted, stressing that the studio can support solo creators with visionary concepts as well as larger teams seeking more substantial budgets.
Deal terms will be tailored to each project’s needs. Xue highlighted that, as developers themselves, Thatgamecompany understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements.
The publishing arm will operate as a full‑service partner, offering not only capital but also production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some newer indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only approach. Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive has observed that the "old school publishing model is dead," with modern developers preferring to pick and choose services that fit their specific requirements.
Thatgamepublisher can therefore provide a bespoke blend of support, from financing to marketing to console porting, depending on what a developer needs. For projects with a strong emotional core, Xue believes an integrated partnership yields the greatest impact, allowing the publisher to protect the game's heart while guiding it through production, positioning, and community building. Ultimately, the studio hopes its reputation for crafting emotionally resonant experiences—evident in Flow, Flower, Journey, and Sky—will attract creators who share a similar vision.
"We learned from our own work that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook. The heart of a project is not always easy to define at the beginning. It can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations. 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 said.
With over 300 million downloads of Sky and seven years of live‑service operation behind it, Thatgamecompany has proven it can scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. By combining that operational expertise with a genuine passion for emotional storytelling, Thatgamepublisher aims to help indie developers reach broader audiences while staying true to the feelings at the core of their games.