Indie developer thatgamecompany recently finished its deal with Sony to release three games for Playstation 3 on the PSN network. Those games were Flow, Flower, and Journey. During Sony’s E3 press conference this year, Jack Tretton mentioned that Journey is the best selling Playstation Network title of all time. That is no small feat, but Journey is highly praised for its beautiful, artistic direction and simple, yet perfect design.
The developer recently raised 5.5 million dollars from Benchmark Capital, a firm that has funded many start-up companies, including Ebay and Twitter. Jenova Chen, the founder and chief executive of the indie developer, has bigger plans for thatgamecompany now that its skill at making new game ideas has been noticed. The plan is for the developer to expand to new platforms with new games. Benchmark Capital’s Mitch Laskey noticed this, and plans ensued between the two for a vision beyond Sony’s PSN.
In the midst of an industry that is driven on known brands and sequels that play it safe, it is very refreshing to see a small developer make a name for itself with fresh new ideas. If Journey is anything to go by, thatgamecompany’s road is just beginning.
