Walking through Gamescom, the massive, eye‑catching booths are usually associated with household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a sizeable portion of Halls 6 and 7 is dominated by a company most attendees probably don’t recognize: 4Divinity. "By any measure it’s huge," 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 adjoining trailer showcases, and four will be displayed on the public floor across two separate stands.
The larger of the two spans roughly 800 square metres. Doust emphasizes that the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the company has also invested heavily in the visual spectacle. "We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and spared no expense," he notes.
One of the featured experiences, the 80s‑style pop‑culture RPG "Showa American Story," recreates a Hollywood‑Hills‑like setting that the game re‑brands as Neo‑Yokohama Hills, an alternate timeline where Japan governs the United States. "We built a seven‑metre‑tall Golden Gate Bridge adorned with Japanese lanterns, and a diner you can walk into to start playing. It’s all very hands‑on," Doust explains.
When pressed about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact figure, calling it "crass" to disclose, but confirms it 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—something not every Chinese‑origin company does or knows how to do." The reason this publisher can afford such a spend is that 4Divinity is part of a larger Singapore‑based conglomerate, GCL Global Holdings, which also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery line. GCL’s core business grew out of a physical‑distribution operation called Epicsoft, a near‑20‑year‑old venture that still ships discs while Sony continues to support physical releases.
Doust acknowledges the declining nature of disc distribution but says the group will maintain it "as long as Sony allows" while simultaneously pivoting toward digital. 4Divinity itself launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping western developers enter Southeast Asia. Doust points out that finding a western title that resonates in China is a tall order.
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. "Those successes showed us that relying on a few outliers wouldn’t fuel the growth GCL needs as a Nasdaq‑listed entity," Doust says. The answer, he explains, was to become a global publisher of Chinese‑made games.
The shift began before Doust joined in late 2024; the team had already signed a handful of smaller indie projects and the ambitious "Showa American Story." Since then the portfolio has expanded to eight titles slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid growth phase. All of the games 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 strategies pursued by other firms such as ProbablyMonsters in the United States. "Players today don’t have the time or appetite for 200‑hour live‑service games," Doust observes.
"The $80 blockbuster is reserved for a handful of franchises, but there’s a willingness to spend $40‑$50 on a well‑crafted single‑player adventure." Developing games in this AA segment typically costs between $5 million and $20 million, regardless of whether the studio is in China or the West. With additional operating expenses, a title must sell roughly a million copies just to break even—a daunting target given today’s discoverability challenges.
4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on new intellectual property. "Everything you’ll see from us at Gamescom is brand‑new IP," Doust says. In China, the market is already saturated with fresh titles, but in the West most large publishers shy away from betting on untested IP, preferring to lean on established franchises. The risk‑averse nature of AAA development has turned many studios into franchise factories, leaving little room for newcomers unless they are backed by substantial resources.
The catalyst for 4Divinity’s global pivot, 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 a Chinese studio, it lacked the infrastructure to manage global logistics, creating an opening for GCL’s 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‑ready studios.
"Black Myth was one of the first, but now there’s a growing pipeline of Chinese talent creating high‑quality games at a fraction of Western development costs," Doust explains. Tax filings suggest Wukong’s budget topped 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million), yet the title sold 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit.
Lower production costs and price‑sensitive Chinese gamers shape 4Divinity’s strategy. Doust believes there is a “massive drought of supply” for affordable, narrative‑driven games in the West, and Chinese developers are well positioned to fill that gap. His mission is to bridge western demand for fresh experiences that don’t break the bank with Chinese supply that can deliver them efficiently. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, GCL’s chairman, my thesis was ‘what if we could find common themes between East and West?’" Doust says.
He argues that universal motifs—loyalty, revenge, defiance—translate across cultures, allowing a single marketing asset to be repurposed with different messaging for each region. Even without an aggressive cross‑border push, games tend to travel. Doust refers to this as the "do‑nothing" model: market primarily in China, let a ripple effect reach the West, resulting in an 80/20 sales split.
Wukong sold roughly 20 million copies in China and 3‑4 million elsewhere, exemplifying that pattern. The goal for 4Divinity is to shift the ratio toward a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase overall unit sales and could, in theory, produce a best‑selling title relative to its modest development budget.
The company is also experimenting with reverse marketing—introducing western titles to Chinese audiences early. Their sole non‑Chinese game, "Guns Of Eschaton," was first showcased at Bilibili World in Shanghai, a move no western publisher typically makes at that stage. The early exposure propelled China to become the second‑largest wishlist market for the game, behind the United States.
Thus, the massive Gamescom presence is a physical manifestation of this dual‑market strategy. By debuting its slate in Cologne shortly after a ChinaJoy showcase, 4Divinity aims to generate simultaneous buzz in both territories rather than chasing a delayed wave of interest. Doust concludes, "Gamescom gives us a single, high‑impact platform to announce all our titles to the west at once.
If we’re making a portfolio push, why not go big?"