The studio behind games like Journey and Flower, thatgamecompany, has announced a new publishing label that will support “emotionally ambitious games.” Aptly called thatgamepublisher, it will focus on developers who create games that make people feel strong emotions.
thatgamepublisher has 20 years of experience making emotionally driven games, and the new label will help fund, produce, and market games with a similar philosophy. Here’s what Jenova Chen, CEO and Creative Director of thatgamecompany, has to say about the importance of games that move people emotionally:
“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.”
Over the past seven years, the company has been running the live-service game Sky: Children of the Light, which has over 300 million downloads and showcases their dedication to building artistic, emotional experiences. The goal as a publisher is to bolster developers who value the same creative process, and unlike prioritizing marketing opportunities, they state that they are dedicated to helping projects preserve the emotional heart of their work. The label is open to working with teams of any size and with no genre restrictions, and wants to help reach the players and culture the games are meant to find.
Ultimately, the studio firmly believes that games can move people, build connections, and tell a story about what it means to be human.
In similar publishing news, last month The Forever Project Initiative was announced, which aims to build a physical publishing route for indie developers and publishers.
