Why an Unfamiliar Publisher Is Investing Millions in Its Gamescom Showcase

Strolling through Gamescom, you’ll quickly notice that the most 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 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 presenting 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 occupies 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 builders at Gamescom and haven’t held back on any expense," Doust explains. One of the highlighted experiences is the showcase for the 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*.

The booth 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‑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 very immersive," Doust adds. When pressed about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact figure, calling it "crass" to do so, but confirms that the investment runs into the millions.

"The size of our footprint alone shows we’re committing resources at that level. It signals how seriously we’re taking the Western market—a mindset not all Chinese firms share or understand." The reason this relatively unknown publisher can afford such a splash is that 4Divinity sits under the umbrella of Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, a conglomerate that also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s roots lie in a physical‑distribution operation called Epicsoft, a business that has been running for nearly two decades. While the rise of digital delivery and recent Sony announcements have made disc‑based distribution increasingly precarious, Doust notes that the segment remains important as long as consoles still require physical media.

"We’ll keep it as long as Sony allows it, but we recognize it’s a declining revenue stream, so we need a stronger digital focus," he says. 4Divinity was launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring games to Southeast Asia. Doust points out that finding a Western title that performs well in China is exceptionally difficult.

The company succeeded with *Atomic Heart*, which saw huge sales in the Chinese market, and then repeated the feat with *Stalker 2*. However, those successes were outliers rather than a sustainable growth model. As a Nasdaq‑listed entity, GCL needed a more scalable revenue engine. "From a growth standpoint, we had to move to global publishing," Doust explains.

The shift meant signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the pipeline already included a few indie titles and 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, run 15‑20 hours, and sit in the mid‑tier price band. This focus on the "squeezed middle" mirrors a strategy pursued by other mid‑size 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 $80 AAA titles are rare. A $40‑$50 single‑player adventure is an appealing proposition," he says.

Developing games in that price range typically requires budgets of $5‑$20 million, whether the studio is in China or the West. With additional operating costs, a title often needs to sell about 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 is brand‑new IP, even in China.

In the West, that’s especially rare because big publishers shy away from untested concepts," Doust observes. The risk‑averse nature of AAA development has turned many studios into franchise factories, leaving little room for fresh ideas unless a company already controls an established series. The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambitions, according to Doust, was the success of *Black Myth: Wukong*.

GCL handled the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as publisher in Taiwan. Because the developer, Game Science, is Chinese, navigating the console market required a partner with a strong international presence—something 4Divinity could provide from its Singapore base. Wukong’s triumph highlighted a broader opportunity.

After China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home and formed console‑focused studios. Doust notes that development costs in China are considerably lower; a tax filing suggests Wukong’s budget was roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million). The game reportedly sold 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit margin.

This cost advantage, combined with Chinese gamers’ price sensitivity, shapes 4Divinity’s regional strategy. Doust argues that while major Western publishers have retreated from mid‑budget, single‑player titles for financial reasons, consumer appetite for such experiences remains strong, creating a "massive drought of supply" that 4Divinity aims to fill. His mission is to bridge Western demand for affordable, self‑contained experiences with Chinese developers’ capacity to produce them efficiently.

"When I started working with Jacky Choo, the GCL chairman, I asked: what common themes exist between East and West? Loyalty, trust, defiance, revenge—these are universal.

We market the same game with different cultural lenses to resonate in each market," Doust explains, calling this a largely untapped approach. Even without an aggressive marketing push, games will cross borders, but 4Divinity prefers a more proactive method. Doust describes the company’s "do‑nothing" model as simply marketing a title in China and letting a ripple effect generate modest sales abroad—typically an 80/20 split, as seen with Wukong (20 million units in China, 3‑4 million elsewhere). The goal now is to shift that balance toward a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase total unit sales and could potentially produce a best‑selling title relative to its modest development budget.

The publisher is also experimenting with reverse promotion—bringing Western games into China early. Their first non‑Chinese title, *Guns Of Eschaton*, was launched at Bilibili World, a massive anime and pop‑culture convention in Shanghai, well before any Western marketing effort.

The early exposure made China the second‑largest wishlist market for the game, trailing only the United States. Thus, the colossal Gamescom presence is a physical manifestation of this dual‑market strategy.

By showcasing its slate in Cologne shortly after a ChinaJoy debut, 4Divinity aims to generate simultaneous buzz in both regions rather than chasing a delayed Western surge after a Chinese hit. Doust sees Gamescom as a "coming‑out party" for the company in the West, allowing it to consolidate multiple game campaigns into one high‑impact event. "If we’re using Gamescom to introduce our portfolio and ourselves to the Western audience, why not go big?" he concludes.