Why an Unfamiliar Publisher Is Investing Millions in Its Gamescom Showcase

Strolling through 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 dominated by a brand most visitors probably don’t recognize: 4Divinity. "It’s massive by any measure," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the company’s Gamescom footprint. The publisher will feature six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of those in dedicated trailer showcases, and four games on the public showfloor across two separate stands.

The larger of the two spans roughly 800 square metres. But the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the spectacle is equally ambitious. "We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and spared no expense," Doust adds.

One of the highlighted experiences is for the 80s‑style pop‑culture RPG *Showa American Story*. The set recreates the Hollywood Hills—rebranded as the Neo Yokohama Hills in the game’s alternate timeline where Japan rules the United States. "We built a seven‑metre‑high Golden Gate Bridge adorned with Japanese lanterns, and a fully stocked diner that visitors can walk through to try the game.

It’s all about immersion," Doust explains. When pressed about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact figure, calling it "crass" to disclose, but confirms that the investment runs into the millions. "The size of our footprint alone shows we’re committing resources at that level.

It reflects how seriously we’re taking the Western market—a stance not all Chinese firms share or even understand." The reason this publisher can afford such a lavish presence may be unclear to many. 4Divinity is part of Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, a conglomerate that also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s origins lie in physical game distribution through Epicsoft, a company with almost two decades of experience. While physical media remain a component of GCL’s revenue—"as long as Sony continues to produce discs, we’ll keep the business alive"—the group acknowledges the sector is shrinking and therefore seeks digital growth.

4Divinity was founded in 2022 initially as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring titles to Southeast Asia. Doust cites the success of *Atomic Heart*—which performed strongly in China—and *Stalker 2* as early proof points, but notes those were outliers.

"Finding a Western game that resonates in China, especially the mainland, is exceptionally difficult," he says. The company realized that relying on a few isolated hits would not satisfy the growth expectations of a Nasdaq‑listed parent. Consequently, 4Divinity pivoted toward global publishing of Chinese‑developed games.

By the time Doust arrived in late 2024, the firm had already signed a handful of titles, including a few indie projects and the ambitious *Showa American Story*. Since then the portfolio has ballooned to eight games slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid expansion phase. A common thread runs through the current lineup: most titles are single‑player experiences lasting 15–20 hours, priced in the mid‑tier range.

This focus on the "squeezed middle" of the market mirrors strategies employed by other publishers such as the U.S. company ProbablyMonsters. Doust believes this segment captures what many gamers want today. "People don’t have the time—or desire—to invest 200 hours in a live‑service title.

An $80 AAA game is reserved for a few blockbuster franchises, but a $40‑$50 single‑player adventure is an attractive proposition for many." Developing such games is still costly, typically ranging from $5 million to $20 million, regardless of whether the studio is based in China or the West. With additional operating expenses, a title often needs to sell around a million copies just to break even—a challenging target given the crowded marketplace and discoverability hurdles. 4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its commitment to new intellectual property.

"Everything you’ll see at Gamescom is brand‑new IP," Doust notes. Even in China, these are fresh concepts, and in the West they are completely untested.

Larger publishers tend to avoid betting on unproven IP, especially given the soaring development costs that have pushed AAA studios toward franchise‑centric models. Only a handful of emerging Chinese studios are willing to take such risks.

The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambitions, according to Doust, was the handling of *Black Myth: Wukong*. GCL managed the physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as the publisher in Taiwan.

Because the developer, Game Science, is a Chinese company, navigating international logistics was complex, and 4Divinity’s Singapore base proved advantageous. *Wukong* illustrated a broader opportunity. After 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 through, and the market has since produced a growing stream of high‑quality titles. Development costs in China remain comparatively low; tax filings suggest *Wukong* cost roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) to produce, yet it sold 30 million copies, delivering substantial profit. Doust points out that Chinese gamers are highly price‑sensitive, which shapes 4Divinity’s pricing strategy. By offering compelling experiences at a fraction of the price of Western AAA games, the publisher can test titles in China first and then roll them out to other regions.

He describes this as a "do‑nothing" business model: the company focuses its marketing efforts on China, allowing organic spill‑over into Western markets, typically resulting in an 80/20 sales split favoring China. *Wukong* exemplified this, with 20 million copies sold domestically and three to four million abroad.

The long‑term goal is to shift that ratio toward a more balanced 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase global unit sales. Doust muses that if *Wukong* had achieved such a distribution, it could have become the best‑selling game of all time relative to its development budget. To pursue this bidirectional flow—"East to West, West to East, like a modern Silk Road"—4Divinity is already experimenting with Western titles.

Its sole non‑Chinese game at present is *Guns Of Eschaton*, developed by Eschatology Entertainment, a new studio founded in Cyprus by a former Wargaming employee. The marketing push began in China, where the game was showcased at Bilibili World, Shanghai’s massive anime and pop‑culture convention.

This early exposure generated enough buzz that China became the second‑largest wishlist market for the title, trailing only the United States. The massive Gamescom presence therefore mirrors 4Divinity’s broader strategy. The company plans to debut its games in Cologne shortly after showcasing them at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, aiming to generate simultaneous momentum in both markets rather than waiting for a Chinese hit to trickle westward. While individual game campaigns continue, Gamescom offers a single, high‑impact platform to introduce the entire portfolio and the publisher itself to Western audiences.

In Doust’s words, "If we’re presenting a 4Divinity portfolio to the West, why not go big?" The scale of the booth, the immersive sets, and the emphasis on brand‑new IP all signal an ambitious intent: to become a bridge between Chinese developers and global gamers, delivering fresh, affordable single‑player experiences that satisfy a demand that many larger publishers have neglected.