Walking through Gamescom, you’ll quickly notice that the most expansive and eye‑catching booths belong to household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a substantial portion of Halls 6 and 7 is occupied by a company most visitors will not recognize: 4Divinity.
"It’s enormous by any standard," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK operation, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The company is presenting six titles in the private B2B zone, five of which will appear in dedicated trailer showcases, and four will be displayed on the public show floor across two separate stands.
The larger of those stands covers roughly 800 square metres. Doust stresses that the scale is not limited to square footage; the visual spectacle is equally ambitious. "We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and spared no expense," he adds. One of the featured experiences, the 80s‑inspired RPG "Showa American Story," recreates a stylised version of the Hollywood Hills—renamed Neo Yokohama Hills in the game’s alternate 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 through to try the game. It’s all very hands‑on and immersive," Doust explains.
When pressed about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact number, calling it "crass" to do so, but confirms that the investment runs into the millions of dollars. "The sheer size of our presence shows how seriously we are taking the Western market—a level of commitment that many Chinese firms simply do not reach," he notes. The reason this publisher can afford such a lavish display is that 4Divinity is part of a larger conglomerate, Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, which also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business among other ventures.
GCL’s roots lie in physical game distribution through its subsidiary Epicsoft, a business that has been operating for nearly two decades. While physical distribution remains a component of the group’s revenue—"as long as Sony continues to produce discs, we’ll keep it alive"—Doust acknowledges that the model is in decline and that the group needed a digital‑focused growth engine.
Enter 4Divinity, founded in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring titles to Southeast Asia. Doust points out that finding a Western game that resonates in China is challenging; the company succeeded with "Atomic Heart," which performed strongly in the Chinese market, and later with "Stalker 2," but those were exceptions rather than the rule. Realising that isolated successes would not fuel the growth demanded by a Nasdaq‑listed parent, GCL pivoted to a global publishing strategy. 4Divinity began signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release.
By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the portfolio already included a handful of indie titles and the ambitious "Showa American Story." Since then, the slate has expanded to eight games slated for release over the next two years, marking a period of rapid expansion. 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 "squeezed middle" of the market mirrors a strategy pursued by other publishers such as the U.S.
firm ProbablyMonsters. Doust believes this segment meets current player expectations. "Most gamers don’t have the time or desire to invest 200 hours in a live‑service game," he says. "An $80 AAA title is reserved for a handful of franchises, but players are willing to spend $40‑50 on a well‑crafted single‑player adventure." Developing games in this AA bracket typically requires budgets of $5‑20 million.
Whether produced in China or the West, that is a substantial outlay, and breaking even often demands sales of around one million copies—a daunting target given today’s discoverability challenges. 4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on new intellectual property. "Everything you’ll see at Gamescom is brand‑new IP," Doust confirms. Even in China, these are fresh concepts, and in the West they are entirely untested.
Larger studios are increasingly risk‑averse, preferring to iterate on established franchises because development costs have skyrocketed. Only a few emerging Chinese developers are willing to take the gamble on original titles. The turning point for 4Divinity, according to Doust, was the handling of "Black Myth: Wukong." GCL managed 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 handle global logistics, creating an opening for GCL’s Singapore hub.
Wukong’s triumph highlighted a broader opportunity. Since China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad have returned home, establishing console and PC studios. "Black Myth: Wukong was one of the first successes, but a wave of new studios is now emerging," Doust explains.
With two offices in China, GCL enjoys direct access to this burgeoning talent pool. Cost efficiencies are a key advantage. A Chinese tax filing suggests Wukong’s development budget was roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million).
By June of this year, the game had sold 30 million copies, delivering a massive profit margin. Doust notes that development costs in China are considerably lower than in the West, and Chinese gamers are highly price‑sensitive. This dynamic shapes 4Divinity’s strategy: leverage inexpensive, high‑quality Chinese productions to satisfy Western demand for fresh experiences that are affordable and not overly time‑consuming.
His overarching thesis is to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western tastes by identifying universal themes—loyalty, trust, defiance, revenge—and marketing the same game with culturally tailored messaging. "No one has done this effectively yet," he claims. Even without a concerted cross‑border push, games tend to find audiences overseas.
Doust calls this the "do‑nothing" business model: market a title in China, let a ripple effect carry it into the West, typically resulting in an 80/20 sales split (80 % in China, 20 % elsewhere). Wukong followed that pattern, selling about 20 million units in China and 3‑4 million abroad. 4Divinity aims to shift that ratio to a more balanced 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase overall sales volume.
Doust speculates that if Wukong had benefited from such a strategy, it could have become the best‑selling game of all time relative to its development cost. The company is pursuing a two‑way cultural exchange—"a Silk Road" of games—bringing Chinese titles to Western markets and vice‑versa.
Currently, its only non‑Chinese title is "Guns Of Eschaton," developed by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee. The marketing for this game began in China, with an early showcase at Bilibili World in Shanghai, a move no Western publisher typically makes at such an early stage. The campaign generated enough buzz that China became the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States. The massive Gamescom exhibition is a physical manifestation of this dual‑market strategy.
4Divinity’s games will appear in Cologne shortly after a ChinaJoy showcase in Shanghai, allowing simultaneous exposure in both regions rather than a staggered rollout that would force the company to chase after Chinese success. Beyond individual titles, Gamescom serves as 4Divinity’s Western debut party.
While the company does run game‑by‑game campaigns, the trade show offers a platform to consolidate all its efforts into one high‑impact event. "We haven’t done much in the West yet, so this is our chance to make a splash," Doust says.
"If we’re presenting an entire portfolio, why not go big?"