Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Flow, Flower, Journey, and the recent 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 studios that, after achieving a breakout hit, create publishing or funding arms to nurture other indie projects. Notable examples include Innersloth’s Outersloth, which debuted in 2024 and now backs games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, the developers of Phasmophobia, who launched Kinetic Publishing with a slate that features Sam Barlow’s latest, Precognition; Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, which started Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the creators of Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label.
The industry is witnessing an increasing number of small studios leveraging their newfound capital and expertise to become patrons of the next generation of games. Jenova Chen, co‑founder of Thatgamecompany, explains the rationale behind this trend: “When an indie title that was built on a shoestring budget becomes a massive success, you suddenly have a surplus of cash. Yet you don’t want to balloon your own team into a thousand‑person operation. The logical place to invest that money is in something you understand deeply—other indie games.
That’s why many indie studios are turning into publishers.” Thatgamecompany’s own history illustrates the stakes involved. When Journey launched in 2012, the studio was on the brink of financial ruin; Chen has recounted that the project nearly bankrupted the company and resulted in a wave of layoffs. Fast forward to 2019, and Sky: Children of the Light has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, even inspiring a feature‑film adaptation. The revenue generated by Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to fund what it describes as “emotionally ambitious” games, a mission that aligns with the studio’s long‑standing belief in the power of interactive experiences to move players on a level comparable to film, literature, or music.
Chen also points out how distribution has shifted dramatically. In the era of Journey, platforms such as PlayStation controlled the primary channels for reaching players. Today, the distribution network is effectively owned by the audience itself—streamers, influencers, and social media communities act as the most potent promoters.
“A successful indie title can amass millions of players who become its strongest distribution engine,” Chen notes. “Your audience can be more influential than traditional outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam.” Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Approximately 70 % of Sky’s player base is female, giving the studio a uniquely balanced audience compared with many other developers. Chen believes this gender‑balanced community can help promote games that appeal to both men and women, especially titles that might attract players who are new to gaming altogether.
While specific titles under the Thatgamepublisher banner remain under wraps, Chen has shared the label’s guiding philosophy in a press release: “When we first began making games, many doubted whether interactive experiences could affect players as deeply as other art forms. Over the years, games have proven they can forge lifelong friendships, heal personal struggles, reconnect loved ones, and restore hope. Thatgamepublisher exists because we see countless creators exploring new emotional frontiers, 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 initiative, elaborates on the types of projects the studio seeks.
He emphasizes that genre, platform, or team size are not primary criteria; instead, the focus is on whether a game can “move people through play.” Xue explains, “We’re open to any stage of development, from early prototypes to near‑complete builds, and to teams of any size. What matters is the game’s capacity to reach meaningful emotional territory and to linger with players after the screen goes dark.” The emotional scope, according to Xue, is broad: “It can be joyful, chaotic, even funny. The through‑line is always whether the experience stays with someone after they finish playing. If a game aspires to that, we want to talk.” Unlike many indie publishers that concentrate on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to support larger, AA‑level projects.
Xue says the studio’s funding model is flexible, ranging from solo developers with groundbreaking ideas to larger teams requiring more substantial budgets. The terms of each publishing deal—such as revenue share and recoupment—will be tailored to the specific needs of the project, reflecting the studio’s own experience as developers who value fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships. Thatgamepublisher is positioning itself 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 other indie publishers like Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a modular, funding‑only approach.
Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, has observed that “the old school publishing model is dead; developers now pick and choose the services they need, whether that’s marketing, console conversion assistance, or full‑scale funding.” Xue echoes this sentiment, stating that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other specific support, but also believes that emotionally ambitious projects benefit from an integrated partnership that covers creative development, production, positioning, and community strategy. The overarching motivation for developers to partner with Thatgamepublisher lies in the studio’s founding belief that games can forge shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. Xue articulates this philosophy: “That belief has shaped everything Thatgamecompany has made—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. We know that emotionally ambitious games often need a different playbook.
Their heart may not be evident 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 the space, guidance, and alignment they need to uncover the strongest version of their work.” Drawing on years of operating Sky: Children of the Light as a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads and seven years of global operation, Thatgamepublisher claims it understands how to scale deeply felt experiences without diluting their core emotional impact. By grounding each project in its emotional truth, building from player communities, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, the studio aims to help every partner reach a broader audience while staying true to the feeling at the heart of the game.