Strolling through Gamescom, you’ll quickly notice that the most expansive, eye‑catching booths belong to household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a sizeable portion of Halls 6 and 7 is dominated by a company most visitors probably haven’t heard of: 4Divinity.
"It’s massive 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 which will appear in the associated trailer showcases, and four will be displayed on the public showfloor across two separate stands. The larger of those stands covers roughly 800 square metres. But the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the production values are equally lofty.
"We’re working with one of the top booth‑construction firms at Gamescom," Doust adds. "No expense has been spared." One of the most striking examples is the area dedicated to the 80s‑style pop‑culture RPG *Showa American Story*. The booth features a replica of the Hollywood Hills—rebranded as the Neo‑Yokohama Hills in the game’s alternate timeline where Japan rules the United States. "We built a seven‑metre‑high Golden Gate Bridge draped with Japanese lanterns, and a fully realised diner that visitors can walk into to try the game," Doust explains.
The experience is designed to be immersive, letting attendees step directly into the world the developers have created. When asked about the cost, Doust refuses to give an exact number, calling it "crass" to do so, but he confirms that the investment runs into the millions of dollars. "The size of our footprint alone should make it clear we’re committing resources at that level.
It reflects how seriously we’re taking the Western market—a commitment not all Chinese firms share or even understand." So why would a relatively unknown publisher have the budget to splurge like this? 4Divinity is part of a larger Singapore‑based conglomerate called GCL Global Holdings, which also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business among other ventures. GCL’s roots lie in a physical‑distribution operation run through Epicsoft, a company with nearly two decades of experience shipping discs.
While that model is under pressure—especially after recent announcements from Sony—GCL still maintains the distribution arm as long as there are physical discs to produce. Doust acknowledges the decline but notes that the group recognizes the need to pivot toward digital channels.
4Divinity itself was launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring games into Southeast Asia. Doust points out that finding a Western title that performs well in China is a rare feat. The company succeeded with *Atomic Heart*, which saw strong sales in China, and later repeated the formula with *Stalker 2*. However, those successes were outliers rather than a sustainable growth engine for a Nasdaq‑listed company like GCL.
"From a growth perspective, we needed a truly global publishing strategy," Doust says. The answer was to start signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. Even before Doust joined in late 2024, the team had already secured a handful of titles, including a few indie projects and the ambitious *Showa American Story*.
Since then the portfolio has swelled to eight games slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid expansion period. All of the titles share common traits: they are primarily single‑player experiences, each offering roughly 15–20 hours of gameplay and priced in the mid‑tier range. This focus on the "squeezed middle" of the market mirrors a strategy being pursued by other publishers, such as the U.S. firm ProbablyMonsters.
Doust believes this segment hits a sweet spot for modern gamers: "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. But a $40‑$50 price point for a well‑crafted solo experience is very appealing." Developing games in this AA bracket typically costs between $5 million and $20 million, regardless of whether the studio is in China or the West. Doust notes that a game needs to sell roughly a million copies just to break even, a challenging target given today’s discoverability hurdles.
4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on new intellectual property. "Everything you’ll see at Gamescom from us is brand‑new IP," Doust says. Even in China, these titles are fresh, and they are entirely new to Western audiences as well. Larger publishers tend to avoid betting on untested IP, especially given the soaring development costs that have made AAA studios increasingly risk‑averse, focusing instead on established franchises.
The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambitions was the handling of *Black Myth: Wukong*. GCL managed the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as the publisher in Taiwan. Because Game Science, the Chinese developer, lacked the infrastructure to handle global logistics, 4Divinity stepped in from its Singapore base.
The success of *Wukong* demonstrated the potential of Chinese developers to create blockbuster titles for a worldwide audience. Since China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese studios that had been working on Western projects have returned home and begun building console and PC games. *Black Myth: Wukong* was among the first high‑profile releases, and more are following. Doust explains that development costs in China are considerably lower than in the West, while Chinese gamers are highly price‑sensitive.
This combination allows 4Divinity to acquire high‑quality games at a fraction of the typical Western development budget. A Chinese tax filing suggests *Wukong* cost just over 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) to develop, yet it sold 30 million copies, delivering a massive profit margin. Doust sees this as evidence of a supply drought: major publishers have retreated from funding mid‑budget, single‑player experiences, but player demand for such games remains strong. His mission is to bridge Western demand for affordable, compelling experiences with the supply of Chinese developers who can deliver them efficiently.
"When I started working with Jacky Choo, GCL’s chairman, I asked, ‘What if we can find common themes between East and West?’" Doust recalls. Themes like loyalty, revenge, and defiance resonate universally, allowing the same marketing assets to be repurposed with slight cultural tweaks. Doust describes the traditional model as a "do‑nothing" business: a game is marketed primarily in China, and a ripple effect generates modest sales in the West, typically an 80/20 split.
*Wukong* followed that pattern, selling 20 million copies in China and 3‑4 million elsewhere. The goal for 4Divinity is to shift that balance toward a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase overall unit sales and could potentially create one of the best‑selling games of all time relative to its development cost.
The company is also experimenting with reverse marketing—launching Western games in China first. Their sole non‑Chinese title, *Guns Of Eschaton*, was developed by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee. After announcing the game, 4Divinity took it to Bilibili World, China’s massive anime and pop‑culture expo in Shanghai, a move no Western publisher typically makes at such an early stage.
The buzz generated there made China the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States. The massive Gamescom presence is essentially a Western showcase of the same cross‑border strategy.
4Divinity’s titles will hit Cologne shortly after appearing at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, allowing the company to generate simultaneous momentum in both regions rather than playing catch‑up after a game has already peaked in China. Beyond promoting individual games, Gamescom serves as the publisher’s debut party to the West.
"We could run separate campaigns for each title, and we do that to a degree, but Gamescom lets us bundle everything into one high‑impact event," Doust says. "We haven’t done much in the West yet, so this is our chance to make some noise. If we’re presenting a portfolio, why not go big?"