Why an Unfamiliar Publisher Is Investing Millions in Its Gamescom Showcase

Strolling through Gamescom, you’ll quickly notice that the most 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 company many attendees probably haven’t heard of: 4Divinity. "It’s massive by any measure," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint.

The firm is presenting six titles within the closed‑door B2B zone, five of which will appear in the associated trailer showcases, and four will be displayed on the public showfloor across two separate stands. The larger of those stands covers roughly 800 square metres. But the scale isn’t limited to square footage; the company is also pulling out all the stops on visual spectacle.

"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 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*. The booth recreates a Hollywood‑Hills‑type landscape—rebranded as Neo Yokohama Hills in the game’s alternate timeline where Japan governs the United States.

"We built a seven‑metre‑tall Golden Gate Bridge draped with Japanese lanterns, and a fully stocked diner that visitors can walk through while they try the game. It’s all about immersion," he explains. When asked about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact figure, calling it "crass" to do so, but he confirms that the investment 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—a stance not all Chinese companies share or even understand." So why might you not recognize a publisher that can afford such a spend? 4Divinity is part of a larger Singapore‑based conglomerate called GCL Global Holdings, which also owns a range of unrelated businesses, including an imitation‑diamond jewellery line.

GCL’s roots lie in physical distribution through a company named Epicsoft, a business that has been operating for nearly two decades. While physical disc distribution remains a revenue stream—"as long as Sony continues to support discs, we’ll keep producing them"—Doust acknowledges that the model is in decline, prompting the group to pivot toward digital‑first strategies.

4Divinity was launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher designed to help Western developers bring their games to Southeast Asia. Doust notes that finding a Western title 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 replicated that success with *Stalker 2*. However, those titles were outliers rather than a sustainable growth engine for a Nasdaq‑listed entity like GCL.

"From a growth standpoint we needed a truly global publishing model," Doust says, and the firm began signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. Before Doust arrived in late 2024, 4Divinity had already secured a handful of titles, including a few indie projects and the ambitious *Showa American Story*. Since then the portfolio has expanded to eight games slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid growth phase.

All of the titles share common traits: they are primarily single‑player experiences lasting 15‑20 hours, positioned at a mid‑tier price point. This focus on the “squeezed middle” of the market mirrors a strategy pursued by other publishers such as the U.S. firm ProbablyMonsters.

Doust believes this segment captures what many gamers currently desire: "People don’t have the time or appetite for 200‑hour live‑service games. The $80 blockbuster is reserved for a handful of titles, but there’s a willingness to spend $40‑$50 on a well‑crafted single‑player adventure." Developing a game in the $5‑$20 million range is a substantial gamble, whether the project originates in China or the West. To break even, a title typically needs to sell around a million copies—a daunting target given today’s discoverability challenges. Doust points out that the AA sector—mid‑budget games—offers a sweet spot: lower development costs, reasonable price points, and a hungry audience.

Beyond pricing, 4Divinity is also differentiating itself by championing brand‑new intellectual property. "Everything you’ll see at Gamescom from us is a fresh IP. Even in China, these are new games, and they’re completely new to Western audiences," Doust explains. Larger publishers are increasingly risk‑averse, focusing on established franchises because development costs have ballooned.

Only a few emerging Chinese studios are willing to take the leap on original IP. 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 the publisher in Taiwan. Because Game Science, the developer, is a Chinese company, it lacked the infrastructure to handle global logistics, allowing 4Divinity to step in from its Singapore base.

*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 formed console‑focused studios. *Black Myth* was one of the first to break out, and more are following.

Doust notes that development costs in China are considerably lower; a tax filing suggests *Wukong* cost just over 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) to produce, yet it sold roughly 30 million copies, delivering a massive profit margin. Chinese gamers, however, are highly price‑sensitive, which shapes 4Divinity’s strategy: offer affordable, high‑quality experiences that can be marketed to both Eastern and Western audiences.

Doust’s thesis, formed with GCL chairman Jacky Choo, is to identify universal themes—loyalty, trust, defiance, revenge—and tailor the marketing message to each region while using the same creative assets. Doust describes the traditional “do‑nothing” approach many publishers take: they market a game primarily in China, let a ripple effect reach the West, and end up with an 80/20 sales split (80 % in China, 20 % elsewhere).

*Wukong* followed that pattern, selling about 20 million units in China and 3‑4 million internationally. 4Divinity aims to shift that balance to a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase total unit sales and could potentially make a title one of the best‑selling games ever when measured against its modest development budget.

To test this model, the company is also pushing Western‑originated games into China. Its sole non‑Chinese title, *Guns Of Eschaton*, developed by Eschatology Entertainment—a new studio founded in Cyprus by a former Wargaming employee—was first promoted at Bilibili World, a massive anime and pop‑culture expo in Shanghai.

Doust says no Western publisher has ever launched a campaign that early in the Chinese market. The early exposure helped make China the second‑largest wishlist region for the game, trailing only the United States. The colossal Gamescom presence is essentially a Western showcase of the same cross‑border strategy. By presenting its portfolio in Cologne shortly after a showing at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, 4Divinity avoids the typical lag where a game gains traction in China first and then scrambles to catch up in the West.

Instead, the company aims for simultaneous global momentum. In Doust’s view, Gamescom serves as the publisher’s debut party to Western audiences.

While the firm does run individual game campaigns, the trade show allows it to bundle all its titles into a single, high‑impact event. "If this is a 4Divinity portfolio play, introducing both the games and the company to the West, why not go big?" he concludes.