Walking the bustling corridors of 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 sizable portion of Halls 6 and 7 is occupied by a brand most visitors will not recognize: 4Divinity.
"It’s massive by any standard," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The company is fielding 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 floor across two separate stands. The larger of those stands covers roughly 800 square metres. Doust emphasizes that the scale isn’t limited to space; the company has also invested heavily in production value.
"We’re working with one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and haven’t held back on any expense," he adds. One of the most striking installations belongs to the 1980s‑style RPG *Showa American Story*. The booth recreates a Hollywood‑Hills‑inspired landscape that the game renames Neo Yokohama Hills, a timeline where Japan governs the United States. "We built a seven‑metre‑tall Golden Gate Bridge adorned with Japanese lanterns, and a fully stocked diner that visitors can walk into to try the game.
It’s a fully immersive experience," Doust 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 reflects how seriously we’re taking the Western market – something not every Chinese‑based company can claim," he says.
The reason many have never heard of 4Divinity is that it sits under the umbrella of Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, a conglomerate that also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery line. GCL’s roots lie in a physical‑distribution business called Epicsoft, which has operated for nearly two decades. While disc production remains a part of the group’s revenue – "as long as Sony permits us to produce discs," Doust notes – the business is clearly in decline, prompting the need for a digital‑first strategy.
4Divinity was launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring games to Southeast Asia. Doust recalls the difficulty of finding a Western title that could succeed in China, noting the breakthrough with *Atomic Heart*, which performed strongly in the Chinese market, followed by a similar success with *Stalker 2*. Those titles, however, 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 model," Doust says.
The pivot came with a shift toward Chinese‑developed games destined for worldwide release. By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the company had already signed a handful of titles, including the ambitious *Showa American Story*.
Today the portfolio has expanded to eight games slated for launch over the next two years, marking a rapid growth phase. All of the titles share common traits: they are primarily single‑player experiences lasting 15‑20 hours, priced in the mid‑tier range. This focus on the so‑called "squeezed middle" mirrors a strategy pursued by other independent publishers such as the U.S. firm ProbablyMonsters.
Doust believes this segment meets current player expectations. "People don’t have the time for 200‑hour live‑service games, and they’re not willing to spend $80 on a single‑player title. A $40‑$50 price point feels right for a well‑crafted experience," he explains.
Developing a game in this AA bracket typically costs between $5 million and $20 million, regardless of whether the studio is based in China or the West. To break even, a title must sell roughly a million copies – a challenging target given today’s discoverability issues. Doust acknowledges that many publishers shy away from this risk, especially in the AAA space where franchises dominate and new IPs are rare.
"AAA has become so risk‑averse it’s essentially a franchise business. Without an existing brand, it’s hard to get a seat at the table," he says. The catalyst for 4Divinity’s broader strategy was the success of *Black Myth: Wukong*. GCL handled the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as publisher in Taiwan, leveraging its Singapore base to bridge the gap for the Chinese developer Game Science.
The console ban lifted in 2016 allowed many Chinese studios that had been working abroad to return home and focus on console and PC development. *Wukong* was among the first high‑profile releases, and its performance demonstrated the commercial potential of Chinese‑made games on a global stage.
Financially, *Wukong* was built on a budget of roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) and sold 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit margin. Doust points out that development costs in China are considerably lower than in the West, and Chinese gamers are highly price‑sensitive. This creates a model where a relatively modest investment can generate massive sales if the product resonates.
4Divinity’s mission, therefore, is to match Western demand for fresh, affordable single‑player experiences with the supply of cost‑effective Chinese development talent. Doust describes his guiding principle: "Find universal themes – loyalty, trust, defiance, revenge – and market the same game with different cultural lenses to each region. No one has executed this effectively yet." The company’s approach to cross‑border marketing is what Doust calls a "do‑nothing" business: they focus marketing efforts primarily in China, allowing a ripple effect to boost sales elsewhere. With *Wukong*, the split was roughly 80 % Chinese sales and 20 % international.
Doust hopes to shift that balance to a 60 / 40 split, which would dramatically increase unit sales without requiring a proportional rise in development spend. While most of 4Divinity’s catalog originates in China, the firm is also testing the reverse flow. Its sole non‑Chinese title, *Guns Of Eschaton*, was developed by a new Cyprus studio founded by a former Wargaming employee. After announcing the game, 4Divinity debuted it at Bilibili World in Shanghai – a move rarely seen from Western publishers at such an early stage.
The early exposure propelled China to become the second‑largest wishlist market for the title, behind the United States. The massive Gamescom presence mirrors this dual‑market strategy. By showcasing its games in Cologne just weeks after a ChinaJoy debut, 4Divinity aims to generate simultaneous buzz in both regions rather than relying on a delayed, China‑first rollout. Doust sees Gamescom as a Western coming‑out party, a chance to consolidate multiple game campaigns into one high‑impact event.
"If we’re presenting a portfolio of titles to the West, why not go big?" he concludes.