13 Facts About Thatgamecompany

Thatgamecompany, Inc is an American independent video game development company founded by University of Southern California students Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago in 2006.

Thatgamecompany was a developer for Sony Computer Entertainment, contracted to create three downloadable games for the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network service, and has since secured independent funding.

Thatgamecompany has stated that, while the company is not opposed to making action-oriented games, he believes that enough such titles are released by the established video game industry.

When designing a game, Chen and Thatgamecompany's process is to start by mapping out what the game should make the player feel, rather than by establishing game mechanics.

Thatgamecompany soon signed a deal with Sony Computer Entertainment, which had been impressed by Chen's Flash game Flow—a component of his master's thesis at USC.

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Thatgamecompany was contracted to produce three games for the upcoming PlayStation Network distribution system and was given startup funding and a location at Sony's offices in Los Angeles.

Thatgamecompany considered adapting Cloud as their first product for Sony, but instead decided on Flow, as it was "more fleshed-out as a design".

Thatgamecompany was not involved in the development of either project beyond ensuring that they retained the same design and art direction as the original, as they were busy creating their next title, Flower.

Once the money from Journey began to arrive, Thatgamecompany brought back several of the employees affected by the cash flow problems, and some new developers.

In March 2020, Thatgamecompany announced plans to open a second studio in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley area in 2020, tapping into the talent in that region primarily to support Sky.

Santiago has said that Thatgamecompany's goal is "to create games that push the boundaries of videogames as a communicative medium, and to create games that appeal to a wide variety of people".

Thatgamecompany's employees are not opposed to making action titles, and, as a break from their regular projects, have internally created "exciting" games that were well received by Sony.

Similarly, Chen does not intend for Thatgamecompany to make "big budget blockbuster games", as he believes that the financial pressure would stifle innovation.