Walking through Gamescom, you’ll instantly recognize the massive, eye‑catching booths belonging to household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a sizable portion of Halls 6 and 7 is occupied by a company most attendees probably haven’t heard of: 4Divinity. "It’s huge by any measure," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The firm is showcasing six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of those in dedicated trailer showcases, and four on the public B2C floor across two separate stands.
The larger of the two spans roughly 800 square metres. But the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the company is also pulling out all the stops on production value. "We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and spared no expense," Doust adds. One of the most striking displays belongs to the 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*.
The booth recreates a version of the Hollywood Hills that, in the game’s alternate timeline, has been renamed Neo‑Yokohama Hills after Japan takes control of the United States. "We built a seven‑metre‑tall Golden Gate Bridge draped with Japanese lanterns, and a fully stocked diner that visitors can walk into to try the game. It’s all about creating an immersive experience," he explains. When pressed about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact figure, calling it "crass," but confirms that the investment runs into the millions.
"The sheer size of our footprint shows we’re committing resources at that level. It signals how seriously we’re taking the Western market—a commitment not every Chinese‑based publisher makes or knows how to make." The reason this name may be unfamiliar is that 4Divinity is part of a larger Singapore‑based conglomerate called GCL Global Holdings, which also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s origins lie in physical game distribution through a company named Epicsoft, a business that has been operating for nearly two decades.
While physical media remain a component of the group’s revenue—"as long as Sony continues to produce discs, we’ll keep supporting that side of the business"—Doust acknowledges that the market is shrinking. "We recognize the decline and therefore need a stronger digital focus," he says. 4Divinity itself launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring games to Southeast Asia.
Doust notes that finding a Western title that resonates in China is exceptionally challenging. The company succeeded with *Atomic Heart*, which performed strongly in the Chinese market, and later with *Stalker 2*. However, those successes were outliers rather than a sustainable growth model.
"For a Nasdaq‑listed group like GCL, we needed a globally scalable publishing strategy," Doust explains, prompting 4Divinity to start signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the portfolio already included a handful of smaller indie titles and the ambitious *Showa American Story*.
Since then the lineup has expanded to eight games slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid growth phase. All of the titles share common characteristics: they are primarily single‑player experiences, run about 15‑20 hours, and sit in the mid‑tier price range. This focus on the "squeezed middle" of the market mirrors a strategy pursued by other independent publishers, such as the U.S. firm ProbablyMonsters.
Doust believes this segment reflects current player preferences. "People don’t have time for 200‑hour live‑service games, and they’re not willing to spend $80 on a single‑player title unless it’s a blockbuster.
A $40‑$50 price point for a well‑crafted experience is far more appealing." Developing a game in this AA bracket typically costs between $5 million and $20 million, regardless of whether the studio is in China or the West. With additional operating expenses, a title often needs to sell around a million copies just to break even—a daunting target given today’s discoverability challenges. 4Divinity is also differentiating itself by presenting only new intellectual property at Gamescom.
"Even in China these are fresh IPs, and in the West they’re completely unknown," Doust says. Larger publishers are increasingly risk‑averse, focusing on established franchises because development costs have skyrocketed. Only a few emerging Chinese studios are willing to take the gamble on brand‑new IPs. The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambitions was the success of *Black Myth: Wukong*.
GCL handled the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as the publisher in Taiwan. Because the developer, Game Science, is a Chinese studio, it lacked the infrastructure to manage global logistics, creating an opportunity for GCL’s Singapore hub to step in. Wukong’s triumph highlighted a broader shift following the 2016 lifting of China’s console ban.
Many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home, forming console‑ready studios. Doust points out that these studios can produce high‑quality games at a fraction of Western development costs. Tax filings suggest Wukong’s budget was about 300 million yuan (roughly $44.6 million), yet the title reportedly sold 30 million copies, delivering a massive profit margin. Lower production costs and price‑sensitive Chinese gamers shape 4Divinity’s approach.
The company aims to bridge Western demand for affordable, narrative‑driven experiences with the supply of cost‑effective Chinese development talent. "My thesis with GCL’s chairman Jacky Choo was to find common storytelling themes—loyalty, revenge, defiance—that resonate across cultures and market the same game with different messaging for each region," Doust explains. In practice, 4Divinity often employs a "do‑nothing" strategy: they market a game primarily in China, allowing organic spill‑over into Western markets.
Wukong exemplified this, selling about 20 million copies in China and 3‑4 million elsewhere, an 80/20 split. Doust believes that by actively promoting titles in both directions, the split could move toward a 60/40 balance, significantly boosting overall sales.
The company’s first non‑Chinese title, *Guns of Eschaton*, was developed by Eschatology Entertainment—a new studio based in Cyprus by a former World of Tanks developer. The marketing push began in China, with a debut at Bilibili World, Shanghai’s massive anime and pop‑culture convention. This early exposure generated enough buzz that China became the second‑largest wishlist market for the game, behind the United States. Thus, the massive Gamescom presence is a physical manifestation of 4Divinity’s cross‑border strategy.
Their games will appear in Cologne shortly after a showcase at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, ensuring simultaneous exposure in both markets rather than a lagging, catch‑up approach. Gamescom serves as the Western coming‑out party, allowing the publisher to consolidate multiple campaigns into a single, high‑impact event.
As Doust puts it, "If we’re using Gamescom to introduce our portfolio to the West, why not go big?"