Walking the bustling corridors of Gamescom, the most eye‑catching booths are usually attached to household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a sizeable portion of Halls 6 and 7 will be dominated by a company many attendees may not recognize: 4Divinity. "By any measure, it’s massive," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK operation, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The firm will present six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of those in the adjacent trailer showcases, and four games on the public show‑floor across two separate stands.
The larger of the two spans roughly 800 square metres. Doust emphasizes that the scale is matched by the spectacle: "We’ve hired one of the top booth‑builders at Gamescom and spared no expense on the build." One of the most striking displays is for the 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*. The set recreates a Hollywood‑hill landscape that, in the game’s alternate timeline, has been renamed Neo Yokohama Hills under a Japan‑ruled United States.
"We built a seven‑metre‑high Golden Gate Bridge fitted with Japanese lanterns, and a fully stocked diner that visitors can walk through to start playing. It’s all about immersion," 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 presence should make it clear we’re committing serious resources.
It signals how earnestly we’re treating the Western market—a level of commitment not all Chinese firms demonstrate or even understand." The reason many have never heard of 4Divinity lies in its corporate lineage. The publisher is part of Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, a conglomerate that also owns a faux‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s origins trace back to a physical‑distribution operation called Epicsoft, a business that has existed for nearly two decades. While physical media remains a component of the group’s revenue—"as long as Sony continues to produce discs, we’ll keep supporting that channel"—Doust acknowledges the sector is in decline, prompting a pivot toward digital‑first publishing.
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 a formidable challenge.
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 engine for a Nasdaq‑listed parent company. "From a growth perspective we needed a truly global publishing model," Doust says.
Consequently, 4Divinity began acquiring Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the slate already included a handful of indie titles and the ambitious *Showa American Story*. Today the portfolio has swelled to eight games slated for launch over the next two years, marking a rapid expansion phase.
The common thread among the titles is clear: they are primarily single‑player experiences, lasting 15‑20 hours, and priced in the mid‑tier range. This focus was not pre‑planned but emerged as a coherent strategy aimed at the “squeezed middle” of the market—a segment also being targeted by US‑based ProbablyMonsters.
Doust believes this is exactly what many gamers currently crave: "People don’t want to invest 200 hours into a live‑service game. The $80 AAA titles are reserved for a few blockbuster franchises. But a well‑crafted single‑player adventure priced at $40‑$50 is very appealing." Developing such games is costly, ranging from $5 million to $20 million per project, regardless of whether they originate in China or the West.
Doust points out that to break even, a title must sell roughly a million copies—a daunting target given today’s discoverability challenges. 4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on brand‑new intellectual property.
"Everything you’ll see at Gamescom is fresh IP, both in China and in the West," Doust says. Larger publishers tend to shy away from betting on untested IPs, especially as development costs soar and AAA studios become increasingly franchise‑centric. Only a few emerging Chinese studios appear willing to take that risk. The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambitions, according to Doust, was the handling of *Black Myth: Wukong*.
GCL managed the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as publisher in Taiwan. Because the developer, Game Science, is a Chinese studio, it lacked the infrastructure to manage global logistics, giving 4Divinity a valuable foothold.
Wukong’s triumph highlighted a broader opportunity. Since China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home and formed console‑ready studios. *Black Myth* was among the first to break out, and more are following.
Doust notes that development costs in China are considerably lower—Wukong’s budget was roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million)—yet the game sold 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit. Chinese gamers are also highly price‑sensitive, reinforcing 4Divinity’s mid‑tier pricing strategy. Doust argues that while major Western publishers have retreated from funding mid‑budget single‑player games for financial reasons, consumer appetite for such experiences remains strong, creating a “massive drought of supply.” His mission is to bridge Western demand for affordable, self‑contained experiences with the supply of Chinese developers who can deliver them cost‑effectively.
"When I started working with Jacky Choo, GCL’s chairman, I asked: what if we could find themes that resonate both East and West? Loyalty, trust, defiance, revenge—these are universal.
We market the same asset with different cultural lenses to connect with each audience. No one has done this well yet." Even without a concerted effort, games tend to cross borders, but 4Divinity wants to amplify that flow.
Doust describes the traditional model as a “do‑nothing” business: market the game in China, let a ripple reach the West, and end up with an 80/20 sales split (80 % China, 20 % elsewhere). *Wukong* followed that pattern, selling 20 million copies in China and about three‑four million internationally. Doust hopes to shift the ratio to 60/40, which would dramatically increase total unit sales and could, in theory, produce a best‑selling title relative to its modest development budget. The company is also experimenting with the opposite direction—introducing Western titles to Chinese audiences early in their life cycles.
Their sole non‑Chinese game at present, *Guns Of Eschaton*, was first showcased at Bilibili World in Shanghai, a move no Western publisher typically makes at such an early stage. The early exposure propelled China to become the game’s second‑largest wishlist market after the United States. Thus, the colossal Gamescom presence mirrors this dual‑market strategy. 4Divinity’s games will hit Cologne shortly after a showcase at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, allowing simultaneous momentum in both regions rather than a lagging, catch‑up approach.
Gamescom serves as the Western “coming‑out party,” consolidating multiple campaigns into one high‑visibility event. As Doust puts it, "If we’re using Gamescom to introduce our portfolio and ourselves to the West, why not go big?"