In Sky, players explore a once-prosperous kingdom using a cape that allows them to fly. The in-game world consists of seven unique realms, each with a variety of areas to explore, and a theme representing different stages of life. There is also Home, a small island which serves as the world hub and the starting point for the player. Throughout the world, players encounter “spirits” that allow them to unlock items in return for in-game currency, and “children of light” that give players “winged light.” When a player has collected enough winged light, their cape level goes up, allowing them to fly farther.
The game places heavy focus on social mechanics. Players are able to meet and befriend one another, and can unlock new abilities such as chat and sending gifts as their friendship grows. There are also many cosmetic items to collect including capes, masks, hairstyles, hats, pants, shoes, playable musical instruments, expressions, and more. These items can be obtained using in-game currency or, in some cases, purchased with real money. Some cosmetics are only available to select players, such as the original beta cape, only available to those who played the beta version prior to the full release of the game.
Sky has multiple in-game currencies. “Candles” are the main currency of Sky, and are exchanged with spirits and friends in return for items and abilities. Candles are obtained by collecting pieces of light (called wax in game) and forging them, or by purchasing them for real money. “Hearts” are the social currency of Sky, and are obtained when players receive gifts from others, or can be bought directly from spirits with candles. Hearts are primarily used to purchase cosmetic items from spirits. “Ascended candles” are the rarest currency in Sky, which are rewarded to players for giving their winged light to “the fallen” at the end of the game. Ascended candles are exchanged with spirits for “wing buffs,” which give players extra Winged Light, or can be used to upgrade friendship and purchase various spells such as height alteration and cape recharge. Another form of currency called “Event Currency”, introduced in the 0.21.5 update, is a type of currency that is only available for specific events. Event Currency was created to bring equity to newer players and allow for event-specific in-game currency (IGC) items to be obtained easier.
Sky: Children of the Light (shortened to Sky in-game) is a social massively multiplayer online adventure game by Thatgamecompany. It was first released for iOS on July 18, 2019. An Android version was later released on April 7, 2020, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on June 29, 2021, followed by a PlayStation 4 release on December 6, 2022, and a Microsoft Windows release via Steam Early Access on April 10, 2024. A separate version of the game was released for Mainland China on Android and iOS devices that is co-developed and published by NetEase.
The game was developed and published by American studio Thatgamecompany over the course of seven years, developing a custom game engine based on their previous work on PlayStation titles, to initially support the Apple Metal API, later expanding it to add support for other platforms as well.The game servers are hosted on Amazon Web Services infrastructure (credited in-game as AWS), with parts of the backend being written in Erlang in cooperation with Amber Studio.
Thatgamecompany, Inc. (stylized as thatgamecompany) is an American independent video game development company founded by University of Southern California students Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago in 2006. The company 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. The first of their games is a remake of Chen’s award-winning Flash title Flow, with enhanced visuals and sound, added multiplayer modes and compatibility with the PlayStation 3’s motion-sensitive controller. The title was released on the PlayStation Store in 2007. The company’s second PlayStation 3 game, Flower, was released on the PlayStation Store in 2009, and their third game, Journey, was released in March 2012 on the PlayStation Store. Their fourth game, Sky: Children of the Light, was released in July 2019 on iOS and in April 2020 on Android. Later, it released on the Nintendo Switch in June 2021 and on PlayStation 4 in December 2022.
According to Chen, the company focuses on creating video games that provoke emotional responses from players. He 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. Chen has stated that the company does not plan to produce large, blockbuster titles, due to their belief that the pressure for high sales would stifle innovation.
NetEase, Inc. (simplified Chinese: 网易; traditional Chinese: 網易; pinyin: Wǎngyì; Jyutping: mong5 ji) is a Chinese Internet technology company founded by Ding Lei in June 1997. It provides online services with content, community, communications, and commerce. The company develops and operates online PC and mobile games, advertising services, email services, and e-commerce platforms in China. It is one of the largest Internet and video game companies in the world. The company owns multiple pig farms. NetEase has an on-demand music-streaming service (NetEase Cloud Music). The video games include, Fantasy Westward Journey, Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty Zero, and Ghost II. NetEase operated the Chinese version of Blizzard Entertainment games from 2008 to 2023, such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Overwatch.