Thatgamecompany, the acclaimed creator of 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 mirrors a growing pattern in the indie sector where studios that have scored a breakout success use their newfound capital and industry clout to nurture other independent developers. Recent examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which backed Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games’ Kinetic Publishing, home to Sam Barlow’s latest Precognition; Pocketpair’s Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games’ Evil Landfall label.
Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the logic behind the trend: "When an indie title that was built on a shoestring budget suddenly generates a flood of revenue, the studio often faces a dilemma. You don’t want to balloon into a massive organization, yet you have cash that needs to be put to good use. The most natural place to invest is in other indie projects that you understand and care about." Thatgamecompany’s own journey to financial stability was anything but smooth. The release of Journey in 2012 nearly drove the studio to bankruptcy, forcing a wave of layoffs.
In contrast, Sky: Children of the Light, launched in 2019, has become a global phenomenon—especially in China—earning enough profit to fund a new publishing arm and even inspiring a feature‑film adaptation. Chen notes that the distribution landscape has shifted dramatically since Journey’s era. "Back then, platforms like PlayStation controlled the pipeline. Today, the players themselves are the distribution engine, acting as influencers who can spread a game to millions," he says.
Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its audience composition. Roughly 70% of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a reach into a demographic that many other developers struggle to attract.
"When we highlight a game that appeals to both men and women, we tap into a unique overlap of players, many of whom are new to gaming altogether," Chen adds. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a handful of projects, though details remain under wraps. In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher’s mission: "When we first started making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could move people as profoundly as film, literature, or music.
Over the years, we have seen games forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope. Those moments convinced us that games can touch lives in deep, meaningful ways. Thatgamepublisher exists to help creators around the world 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 label 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 to larger studios, and to projects at any phase, even early prototypes.
What matters is whether the experience reaches for a meaningful emotional space and stays with the player after the screen goes dark," Xue explains. While many indie publishers concentrate on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is willing to back larger, AA‑scale projects. Xue says the financing terms will be tailored to each developer’s needs, with a focus on fairness, transparency, and developer‑friendly arrangements. "As developers ourselves, we understand how crucial it is to build partnerships that respect the creator’s vision while providing the resources needed to realize it," he notes.
The new label will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering funding, production planning, platform strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This contrasts with some peers, such as Outersloth and Evil Landfall, which have adopted a more modular, funding‑only approach. Industry observers like Luke Keighran of Silver Lining Interactive argue that the traditional publishing model is obsolete; developers now prefer to pick and choose the services they need, whether that’s console porting, marketing support, or full‑scale production assistance. Xue confirms that Thatgamepublisher can provide flexible, modular deals but believes that emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from an integrated partnership that aligns creative development, production, positioning, and community engagement.
The philosophical core of the venture is rooted in the belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. Chen reflects, "That belief has shaped everything we’ve made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. Yet we know the emotional potential of games extends far beyond a single studio. Creators worldwide are exploring new ways to make players feel, and we want to help those ideas reach an audience." He adds that emotionally driven games frequently require a different playbook: "The heart of a project may not be obvious at the outset; it can emerge through prototyping, iteration, quiet discoveries, and the right conversations.
Our role is to protect that process, giving developers the space, guidance, and alignment they need to uncover the strongest version of their work." 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—Thatgamecompany says it has learned how to scale heartfelt experiences without diluting their impact. "By understanding each game’s emotional truth, building from its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, we aim to help every project reach farther while staying true to the feeling at its core," Xue concludes.