Thatgamecompany Launches Thatgamepublisher to Support Emotionally Driven Games

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 mirrors a growing pattern in the independent game sector, where studios that have scored a breakout success expand into publishing or funding roles to nurture other indie developers. For example, the creators of Among Us, Innersloth, introduced Outersloth in 2024, backing games like Clickolding and The Horror at Highrook. Earlier this year, Kinetic Games, known for Phasmophobia, started Kinetic Publishing, which now includes titles such as Precognition, the latest offering from Sam Barlow, the mind behind Immortality.

Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has rolled out Pocketpair Publishing, while Landfall Games, the team behind Peak, launched the Evil Landfall label. The trend is unmistakable: successful indie studios are leveraging their newfound capital to become publishers.

"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 resulted in a mass lay‑off of staff. The situation is dramatically different now. Sky: Children of the Light, released in 2019, has become a global phenomenon, especially in the Chinese market, and even inspired a feature‑film adaptation. The sustained revenue from Sky has given Thatgamecompany the financial breathing room to allocate profits toward what it calls "emotionally ambitious games." Chen also notes a shift in how games reach audiences.

In the era of Journey, distribution channels were dominated by platform holders such as PlayStation. "Today, the distribution network is owned by the players, who are influencers," he says. A hit indie title can amass millions of players who become its most effective promoters, often out‑performing traditional media outlets like GameSpot, IGN, or even Steam in terms of reach. This democratization of distribution empowers indie studios to act as publishers, because they already possess a built‑in community that can amplify new releases.

Another distinctive advantage for Thatgamecompany is its demographic composition. "We have a much bigger female audience reach than most of the game companies in the world," Chen points out, highlighting that roughly 70% of Sky's player base is female.

"If we promote a game that appeals to both men and women, our audience offers a unique overlap, because many of our players have never played games before." While the roster of games slated for Thatgamepublisher remains under wraps, Chen shared the publisher's guiding philosophy in a press release: "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 initiative, 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 concerns.

"The typical genre or platform restrictions would not apply to us," Xue said. "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 elaborated on the meaning of "emotional" in this context: it can be joyful, chaotic, even humorous.

The key question, he said, is whether the experience lingers after the screen goes dark. "If a game is chasing that, we want to have the conversation." Unlike many indie publishers that focus on sub‑million‑dollar budgets, Thatgamepublisher is prepared to back larger ventures.

"We are quite flexible when it comes to funding and project scale," Xue noted. "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 agreement will be tailored to the project's specific needs. Xue explained that, as former developers themselves, the team understands the importance of fair, transparent, and developer‑friendly partnerships.

They aim to provide the support necessary for creators to realize the strongest version of their games. Thatgamepublisher will operate as a full‑service publisher, offering not only financing but also production planning, platform and launch strategy, marketing, community management, and long‑term IP development. This comprehensive approach contrasts with publishers such as Outersloth or Evil Landfall, which often adopt a funding‑only model.

The industry is moving toward modular publishing, where developers can pick and choose the services they need—whether that is marketing assistance, console porting, or full‑scale production support. Luke Keighran, founder of Silver Lining Interactive, recently told GamesIndustry.biz that "the old school publishing model is dead," and the new model is all about flexibility.

Xue affirmed that Thatgamepublisher can adapt its involvement based on what a developer requires, offering modular arrangements for funding, marketing, or other specific support. However, he added that for emotionally ambitious projects, an integrated partnership often yields the best results. Creative development, production, positioning, marketing, community, and platform strategy are frequently interwoven, and having a publisher engaged across those areas helps protect the game's emotional core and guide it to players.

Ultimately, the goal is to meet each project where it stands and shape the partnership around the developer's most pressing needs. Xue highlighted the company's founding belief: games can forge connections through shared emotional experiences and bring out the best in people. This conviction has guided Thatgamecompany's own catalog—from Flow and Flower to Journey and Sky. The studio acknowledges that the emotional ambitions of a game are not always evident at the outset.

They can emerge through prototypes, iterative design, quiet discoveries, and thoughtful dialogue. Thatgamepublisher's role is to safeguard that creative process, providing developers with space, guidance, and alignment to uncover the strongest expression of their vision. 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, Thatgamecompany believes it has a proven formula for scaling deeply felt experiences without diluting their meaning.

By understanding each game's emotional truth, building from its community, and allowing genuine resonance to drive growth, Thatgamepublisher aims to help every project reach a broader audience while staying true to the feeling at its heart.