Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the widely‑celebrated Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the creation of a new publishing division called Thatgamepublisher. This move follows a growing pattern among successful independent developers who, after scoring a breakout hit, set up publishing or funding arms to nurture other indie projects.
Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which debuted in 2024 and backs games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to titles such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire by small studios to reinvest excess revenue into the ecosystem that originally supported them.
"It’s 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 balloon into a thousand‑person corporation overnight, and you can’t just spend the money on anything.
The logical place to invest is in something you understand – other indie games. That’s why many indie studios are doing this." When Journey launched in 2012, Thatgamecompany was far from flush with cash.
Chen has recounted to GamesIndustry.biz that the development of Journey nearly bankrupted the studio and forced a mass lay‑off. The situation has changed dramatically.
Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in China, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky now gives Thatgamecompany the financial footing to fund what it calls "emotionally ambitious" games. Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences.
In the early 2010s, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as PlayStation. 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 like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam’s own recommendation systems.
This democratized reach makes it easier for indie studios to transition into publishing roles because they already possess a built‑in audience that can serve as a distribution engine. Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic profile. 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 showcase a game that appeals equally to men and women, our audience overlap is unique because many of our players have never been gamers before," he says. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though details remain under wraps. In the launch announcement, Chen articulated the publisher’s 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 the impact they can have – lifelong friendships, personal healing, reconnections, restored hope. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives profoundly. Thatgamepublisher exists because we believe countless creators worldwide are exploring new emotional frontiers, and we want to help 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 titles the studio is seeking. "We look for games that move people through play," Xue told GamesIndustry.biz.
"Genre or platform constraints don’t matter to us. We’re open to any team size, any development stage, even prototypes.
What matters is whether the game reaches for meaningful emotional territory and uses interactivity to get players there." He continued, "'Emotional' can be joyful, chaotic, 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 willing to back larger endeavors.
"We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue said. "We work with solo creators who have immense creativity as well as larger teams capable of AA‑level budgets." The specifics of each publishing deal—such as revenue share and recoup terms—will be tailored to the individual project. Xue emphasized that, as developers themselves, they understand the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships that give teams the support needed to realize the strongest version of their game.
Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself as a full‑service publisher, offering not only funding but also production planning, platform and launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some newer indie publishers that adopt a modular, funding‑only model. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, remarked earlier that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that developers now pick and choose services—marketing, console conversion, funding, or a complete package—based on their needs. Xue confirmed that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements as well, but stresses that emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from an integrated partnership.
"Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are deeply interconnected for these games. Being involved across those areas lets us protect the emotional core and help the team carry that vision to players," he explained.
The ultimate goal, according to Xue, is to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around what will be most useful to the developer. He points back to the studio’s founding belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people.
"That belief has shaped everything we’ve made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. But we also know this path is bigger than one studio.
Creators worldwide are expanding what games can make people feel, and we want to help those ideas reach players." He added, "Emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook. The heart of a project isn’t always clear at the outset; it can emerge through prototypes, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right creative conversations.
Our role is to protect that process, giving developers room, guidance, and alignment to discover the strongest version of their work." Drawing on their experience operating Sky as an emotional live‑service with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operations, Thatgamepublisher believes it can scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. "By understanding each game’s emotional truth, building from its players and community, and allowing genuine resonance to create scale over time, we aim to help every project reach farther while staying true to the feeling at its heart," Xue concluded.