Strolling through the bustling corridors of Gamescom, you’ll quickly notice that the most massive and elaborate exhibition spaces belong to household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a sizeable portion of Halls 6 and 7 is occupied by a brand that many attendees may not recognize: 4Divinity. "By any measure, it’s gigantic," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The company has secured six titles for the closed‑door B2B zone, five of which will appear in dedicated trailer showcases, and four titles will be displayed on the public show‑floor across two separate stands.
The larger of those stands covers roughly 800 square metres. But the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the visual spectacle is equally ambitious.
"We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and left no stone unturned," Doust adds. One of the most eye‑catching installations belongs to the 80s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*.
The booth recreates a stylised version of the Hollywood Hills, rebranded as the 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 experience the game. It’s all about immersion," Doust explains. When asked about the cost, Doust refuses to disclose exact numbers, calling it "crass" to do so, but confirms that the investment runs into the millions.
"The sheer size of our presence demonstrates the level of commitment we have to the Western market—a commitment not all Chinese‑origin companies share or even understand." The reason this publisher can afford such a lavish showcase is that 4Divinity is part of a larger conglomerate, Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, which also owns a variety of unrelated businesses, including an imitation‑diamond jewellery line. GCL’s roots lie in physical game distribution through a company called Epicsoft, a business that has been operating for nearly two decades.
While physical distribution remains a component of the group’s revenue, Doust acknowledges that the model is under pressure, especially after recent announcements from Sony regarding disc production. "We will continue to manufacture discs as long as Sony supports it, but we recognise the decline of that segment," he says. "If physical sales were the core of the business, we would need to pivot toward digital solutions." That pivot gave rise to 4Divinity, launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring titles to Southeast Asia.
Doust points out that finding a Western game that resonates strongly in China is a rare feat. The company succeeded with *Atomic Heart*, which performed exceptionally well in the Chinese market, and later repeated the formula with *Stalker 2*. However, those successes were outliers rather than a sustainable growth engine. For a Nasdaq‑listed entity like GCL, a broader growth strategy was essential.
"From a growth perspective, we needed a truly global publishing model," Doust says. Consequently, 4Divinity began signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. The signing process started before Doust joined in late 2024, with a handful of smaller 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 period of rapid expansion.
All of the titles share common characteristics: 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 a similar strategy pursued by U.S. studio ProbablyMonsters.
Doust believes this niche captures current player sentiment. "Gamers today don’t have the time or desire to invest 200 hours into a live‑service title," he says. "The $80, AAA‑budget games are reserved for a handful of blockbuster franchises.
But there’s a willingness to spend $40‑50 on a high‑quality single‑player adventure." Developing such games is costly, whether in China or the West. Production budgets typically range from $5 million to $20 million, and breaking even often requires selling around a million copies—an increasingly difficult target given discoverability challenges.
4Divinity’s approach diverges from the mainstream in another way: every title it showcases at Gamescom is a brand‑new intellectual property. Even within China, these games are fresh, and for Western audiences they are entirely unknown.
Larger publishers are reluctant to gamble on multiple new IPs simultaneously, especially as development costs soar and AAA studios become risk‑averse, focusing on established franchises. Only a few emerging Chinese companies are willing to take such bets.
The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambitions, according to Doust, was the handling of *Black Myth: Wukong*. GCL managed the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as publisher in Taiwan. Because Game Science, the Chinese developer, lacked the infrastructure to handle global logistics, 4Divinity stepped in from its Singapore base.
*Wukong*’s triumph highlighted a broader opportunity. Since China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home and formed console‑focused studios.
*Black Myth: Wukong* was among the first to break out, and the pipeline of Chinese talent is expanding rapidly. With two offices in China, GCL now has direct access to this burgeoning market.
Financially, the game illustrates the cost advantage of Chinese development. A tax filing suggests a development budget of roughly 300 million Yuan (about $44.6 million). By June of this year, the title had sold 30 million copies, generating a massive profit margin. "Development costs are considerably lower in China, and Chinese gamers are very price‑sensitive," Doust notes.
This reality shaped 4Divinity’s regional strategy and informed its belief that, while many major publishers have retreated from mid‑budget single‑player projects for financial reasons, consumer demand for such experiences remains strong—a demand currently undersupplied. Doust’s mission is to bridge Western appetite for affordable, high‑quality experiences with the supply chain that Chinese developers can provide. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, the GCL chairman, I asked: what if we could find thematic common ground between East and West? It’s not as hard as it sounds—values like loyalty, revenge, defiance resonate everywhere.
We market the same game with different cultural lenses to maximize appeal. No one has done this effectively yet." Even without a concerted effort, games tend to cross borders, but Doust calls his approach the "do‑nothing" model: the company markets primarily in China, allowing a ripple effect to reach the West, typically resulting in an 80/20 sales split (80 % in China, 20 % elsewhere).
*Wukong* followed that pattern, selling 20 million units in China and roughly three to four million abroad. The goal now is to shift that ratio toward a 60/40 split, which would significantly increase overall unit sales. Doust speculates that if *Wukong* had been marketed with a more balanced East‑West strategy, it might have become the best‑selling game of all time relative to its development cost.
4Divinity envisions a two‑way cultural exchange—a modern Silk Road for games—pushing titles from east to west and vice versa. Currently, the only non‑Chinese game in its portfolio is *Guns of Eschaton*, developed by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee. The marketing push for this title began in China, where the company debuted it at Bilibili World, Shanghai’s massive anime and pop‑culture convention. This early exposure generated enough buzz that China became the second‑largest wish‑list market for the game, trailing only the United States.
The massive Gamescom presence is essentially a Western counterpart to that China‑first strategy. 4Divinity plans to showcase its titles in Cologne shortly after they debut at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, ensuring simultaneous exposure in both markets rather than a delayed catch‑up approach. Beyond promoting individual games, Gamescom serves as 4Divinity’s debut on the Western stage.
While the company does run title‑by‑title campaigns, the trade show allows it to consolidate its messaging 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 presenting an entire portfolio, why not go all‑in?"