Thatgamecompany, the creative force behind acclaimed 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 in the indie sector where studios that have achieved breakout success expand into publishing or funding roles to nurture other independent developers.
Recent examples include Innersloth, the creators of Among Us, which launched Outersloth in 2024 to back games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook; Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, which started Kinetic Publishing with projects such as Precognition from Sam Barlow; Pocketpair, the team behind Palworld, which formed Pocketpair Publishing; and Landfall Games, the studio behind Peak, which introduced the Evil Landfall label. The trend reflects a desire among small studios to reinvest surplus earnings back into the ecosystem that helped them grow. "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." 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 wave of layoffs. The situation has changed dramatically thanks to Sky: Children of the Light, which debuted in 2019 and has since become a global phenomenon—particularly in the Chinese market—and even inspired a feature film. The revenue generated by Sky now enables Thatgamecompany to allocate funds toward what Chen describes as "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 Sony. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says. A successful indie title can now amass millions of players who act as organic distributors, sharing the experience across social media, streaming platforms, and word of mouth.
"You have an audience who, let's say, love friendslop games, and they're looking for other friendslop games. You actually have more influence for distribution than GameSpot, than IGN, than Steam, right? So that's why I think today indie game studios are more likely to become publishers – they also have additional distribution reach." Another distinctive asset for Thatgamecompany is its demographic reach. Chen points out that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female, giving the studio a broader gender balance than many of its peers.
"If we promote or feature a game that would be appealing to men and women equally, our audience is going to have a very unique overlap, because there are many of our players who have never played games before," he adds. Thatgamepublisher has already signed a "couple" of projects, though details remain under wraps.
In a press release, Chen articulated the publisher's mission: "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, told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is seeking titles that "move people through play." He emphasized that genre, platform, or team size are not primary filters. "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 that "emotional" can encompass joy, chaos, humor, or melancholy, but the common thread is lasting impact: "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 prepared to back larger endeavors.
"We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue said. "We are open to working with everyone from solo developers with immense creativity to larger teams with AA‑level budgets." The terms of each publishing deal will be tailored to the project's needs.
Xue noted that, as developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly agreements that still provide the resources necessary to realize a game's full potential. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering financing, 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, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, remarked that "the old school publishing model is dead" and that modern developers can pick and choose services—be it marketing, console conversion assistance, or funding—according to their specific needs.
Xue reiterated that Thatgamepublisher can provide modular arrangements but believes that emotionally ambitious projects often benefit from an integrated partnership. By being involved across creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy, the publisher aims to protect the game's emotional core and help the team carry that vision from concept to player.
In summary, the philosophy driving Thatgamepublisher is that games have the power to connect people through shared emotional experiences. The studio's own portfolio—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky—demonstrates that belief.
Now, with the infrastructure and experience gained from operating Sky as a live‑service title with over 300 million downloads, Thatgamecompany hopes to extend that legacy by supporting other creators who are exploring new emotional frontiers in interactive media.