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 company most attendees probably haven’t heard of: 4Divinity. "It’s enormous by any standard," 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 those in dedicated trailer showcases, and four on the public show floor across two separate stands.
The larger of the two spans roughly 800 square metres. Doust adds that the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the company has hired one of the premier booth builders at the fair and spared no expense on the build‑out. One of the highlights is the set for the 80s‑inspired RPG "Showa American Story." The area features a meticulously reconstructed Hollywood Hills – re‑imagined as the Neo Yokohama Hills in an alternate timeline where Japan governs the United States.
"We have a seven‑metre‑tall Golden Gate Bridge adorned with Japanese lanterns, a fully stocked diner you can walk into to start playing, and a host of other immersive details," Doust explains. The goal is to create a hands‑on, experiential environment that lets visitors step directly into the game world. When pressed about the cost, Doust refuses to give an exact figure, calling it "crass," but confirms that the investment runs into the millions.
"The size of our footprint alone shows we are committing resources at that level. It reflects how seriously we are taking the Western market – something not every Chinese‑based company does or knows how to do," he says. The reason this publisher can afford such a lavish presence is that 4Divinity is part of a larger conglomerate, Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, which also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s roots lie in physical game distribution through Epicsoft, a company that has been operating for nearly two decades.
While physical distribution remains a revenue stream – "as long as Sony continues to produce discs," Doust notes – the business is in decline, prompting the group to pivot toward digital‑focused activities. 4Divinity was launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring their 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 strong sales in China, and later with "Stalker 2," but those were outliers rather than a sustainable model. "From a growth perspective, we needed a truly global publishing strategy," Doust says, noting that GCL is listed on Nasdaq and must deliver broader expansion.
The shift led 4Divinity to start signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the company already had a few indie titles and the ambitious "Showa American Story" in its pipeline. Today the portfolio has grown to eight games slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid expansion 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 "squeezed middle" of the market mirrors a strategy pursued by US firm ProbablyMonsters. Doust believes this segment captures what many gamers currently want: a complete, narrative‑driven experience without the massive time commitment of live‑service games.
"People aren’t looking to invest 200 hours in a service; they’re willing to spend $40‑50 on a solid single‑player adventure," he explains. Developing such games is still a costly endeavour, with budgets ranging from $5 million to $20 million. Doust notes that to break even, a title typically needs to sell around a million copies – a challenging target given the crowded marketplace and discoverability issues. 4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on new IP.
Every game shown at Gamescom is a fresh property, both for Chinese and Western audiences. Larger publishers are increasingly risk‑averse, favouring established franchises because development costs have ballooned.
"AAA has become a franchise business; unless you already own a franchise, it’s hard to get a seat at the table," Doust says, adding that only a few emerging Chinese studios are willing to take the risk on brand‑new IP. The catalyst for the publisher’s global pivot 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 a Chinese studio, it lacked the infrastructure to manage global logistics, giving 4Divinity a unique opportunity to step in from its Singapore hub. Wukong’s triumph highlighted a broader trend: after China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home and formed console‑oriented studios. Doust estimates that Wukong’s development cost roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) and that the game sold 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit margin. Lower development costs in China, combined with price‑sensitive Chinese gamers, shape 4Divinity’s strategy.
The publisher aims to bridge the gap between Western demand for affordable, high‑quality experiences and the supply of such games from Chinese studios. "My thesis with GCL’s chairman Jacky Choo was to find common themes between East and West – loyalty, revenge, defiance – and market the same game with different cultural lenses," Doust says. He describes a "do‑nothing" business model where 4Divinity primarily markets a game in China, allowing a ripple effect to generate sales abroad.
Wukong sold roughly 20 million copies in China and 3‑4 million elsewhere, an 80/20 split that mirrors the pattern for many Western titles in Asia. Doust hopes to shift that balance to a 60/40 split through more aggressive cross‑border marketing. The company is already testing this two‑way approach. Its only non‑Chinese title, "Guns Of Eschaton," developed by Cyprus‑based Eschatology Entertainment, was first promoted at Bilibili World in Shanghai – a move no Western publisher typically makes so early in a campaign.
The early exposure helped make China the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States. 4Divinity’s massive Gamescom presence is essentially a Western debut for this strategy. By showcasing its portfolio shortly after a ChinaJoy appearance, the publisher aims to generate simultaneous buzz in both markets rather than playing catch‑up after a game has already peaked in China.
Doust sees Gamescom as a chance to consolidate multiple game launches into one high‑impact event, saying, "If this is a 4Divinity portfolio play, why not go big?"