Walking through the bustling corridors of Gamescom, you’ll quickly notice that the most eye‑catching, sprawling 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 brand most attendees probably haven’t heard of before: 4Divinity.
"It’s massive by any standard," explains Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK operation, when describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The company is showcasing six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of which will appear in the accompanying trailer showcases, and four will be displayed on the public show floor across two separate stands.
The larger of these occupies roughly 800 square metres. But the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the spectacle is equally grand. "We’ve hired one of the top booth‑construction firms at Gamescom and spared no expense," Doust adds. One of the most striking installations is for the 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*.
The set recreates a version of the Hollywood Hills that, in the game’s alternate timeline, has been renamed Neo Yokohama Hills after Japan takes control of the 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 while they try the game. It’s all about creating an immersive, hands‑on experience," Doust says. When pressed about the cost, Doust refuses to quote an exact figure, calling it "crass," but confirms that the investment runs into the millions.
"The sheer size of our footprint should make it clear we’re committing resources at that level. It signals how seriously we’re taking the Western market – something not every Chinese‑owned company chooses to do or even knows how to execute." The reason this publisher can afford such a lavish presence is that 4Divinity sits under the umbrella of Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, a diversified group that also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business.
GCL’s roots lie in physical game distribution through a company called Epicsoft, which has been operating for nearly two decades. While the disc‑based model is under pressure – especially after recent announcements from Sony – it still represents a significant revenue stream for the group. "We’ll continue to produce discs as long as Sony supports it, but we recognize that physical distribution is a declining business.
If that were our only focus, we’d need to pivot toward digital," Doust notes. That pivot gave birth to 4Divinity in 2022, initially positioned as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring their titles to Southeast Asia. Doust recalls the challenge: "Finding a Western game that can succeed in China – especially the mainland market – is incredibly tough.
We managed it with *Atomic Heart*, which performed strongly in China, and then repeated the feat with *Stalker 2*. Those successes were outliers, though." As a Nasdaq‑listed entity, GCL needed growth that went beyond occasional hits. "From a growth perspective, we had to become a global publisher," Doust explains.
The company began signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release even before Doust joined in late 2024. By the time he arrived, the slate already included a few indie titles and the ambitious *Showa American Story*. Since then, the portfolio has swelled 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 so‑called "squeezed middle" of the market mirrors strategies employed by other independent publishers such as the U.S. firm ProbablyMonsters.
Doust believes this segment reflects current player preferences. "People don’t have time for 200‑hour live‑service games. The $80 AAA titles are 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 bracket typically costs between $5 million and $20 million.
Whether produced in China or the West, that represents a substantial gamble. "You need to sell roughly a million copies just to break even, and that’s a tall order in today’s crowded marketplace where discoverability is a major hurdle," Doust admits. 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, it’s fresh, and it’s absolutely fresh to Western audiences," he says.
Larger studios are increasingly risk‑averse, focusing on established franchises rather than betting on multiple new IPs. This risk aversion is especially pronounced in the AAA sector, where development costs have skyrocketed. 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 a Chinese studio, navigating the logistics of global console releases was challenging, and 4Divinity’s Singapore base gave them a unique advantage. 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 started console‑focused studios. *Black Myth: Wukong* was among the first to break out, and more are following. Doust points out that development costs in China are considerably lower; a tax filing suggests Wukong’s budget was around 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million). The game reportedly sold 30 million copies, delivering a massive profit margin.
"Chinese developers can produce high‑quality games at a fraction of Western costs, and Chinese gamers are extremely price‑sensitive," Doust explains. This economic reality shaped 4Divinity’s strategy: leverage cost‑effective Chinese development talent to create affordable, high‑quality experiences that can be marketed to Western players hungry for fresh content.
Doust’s overarching mission is to bridge the gap between Western demand for novel, reasonably priced experiences and the supply of such games from Chinese studios. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, the GCL chairman, I asked: what if we could find common thematic ground between East and West?
It’s not as hard as it sounds – concepts like loyalty, revenge, defiance resonate everywhere. We can market the same game with different cultural lenses to appeal to each region.
No one has done this effectively yet." Even without an active marketing push, games tend to cross borders, but 4Divinity wants to accelerate that process. Doust describes their "do‑nothing" model: they focus on Chinese marketing, which creates a ripple effect abroad, typically resulting in an 80/20 sales split (80 % in China, 20 % elsewhere). *Wukong* followed this pattern, selling 20 million copies in China and about three to four million internationally. The goal now is to shift that ratio toward a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase total unit sales.
"If we could replicate Wukong’s success with a more balanced split, we might be looking at the best‑selling game of all time relative to its development budget," Doust muses. To test this two‑way flow, 4Divinity recently added a non‑Chinese title to its roster: *Guns Of Eschaton*, developed by Eschatology Entertainment, a studio founded in Cyprus by a former Wargaming employee. The company’s first move was to showcase the game at Bilibili World, Shanghai’s massive anime and pop‑culture convention – a venue no Western publisher typically uses at such an early stage.
The early buzz was so strong that China became the second‑largest wishlist market for the title, trailing only the United States. The massive Gamescom presence mirrors this dual‑market strategy. 4Divinity’s games will appear in Cologne shortly after a showcase at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, ensuring simultaneous exposure in both regions rather than a staggered rollout that would force the company to chase after a market that’s already moved on. Gamescom also serves as 4Divinity’s Western debut party.
While the company runs individual campaigns for each title, the trade show allows it to consolidate all its efforts into a single, high‑impact event. "We haven’t done much in the West yet, so this is our chance to make some noise," Doust says.
"If we’re using Gamescom as a portfolio launch, why not go big?"