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 sizeable 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 company is presenting six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of which will also appear in the trailer showcases, and four titles will be displayed on two public stands, the larger of which covers roughly 800 square metres.
The scale is matched by the spectacle. "We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and spared no expense," Doust adds. One of the showcases, for the 1980s‑style pop‑culture RPG *Showa American Story*, features a recreated Hollywood Hills set that has been renamed 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 diner you can actually walk into to start playing. It’s all very hands‑on," Doust explains.
When he says no expense was spared, he clarifies, "I can’t quote exact numbers—it would be crass—but we’re talking millions of dollars of investment. The sheer size of the space tells you how seriously we’re taking the Western market, something not every Chinese‑based firm does or knows how to do." 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.
Doust notes that while physical distribution remains a part of the group’s revenue—"as long as Sony continues to produce discs, we’ll keep making them"—the business is in decline, prompting a shift toward digital‑focused activities. 4Divinity was launched in 2022 as a co‑publisher helping Western developers bring games to Southeast Asia. Doust recalls that landing a Western title that could succeed in China is extremely challenging. The company managed to do it with *Atomic Heart*, which performed strongly in the Chinese market, and later with *Stalker 2*.
However, those successes were outliers rather than a sustainable growth model. As a Nasdaq‑listed entity, GCL needed a more scalable approach, which meant moving from regional co‑publishing to global publishing of Chinese‑made games. The transition began before Doust joined in late 2024, with a handful of smaller indie titles and the ambitious *Showa American Story* already signed.
Since then the portfolio has ballooned 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, positioned at a mid‑tier price point. This focus on the “squeezed middle” of the market mirrors a strategy being pursued by other independent publishers such as ProbablyMonsters.
"Players today don’t want to invest 200 hours into a live‑service game," Doust says. "The $80‑plus AAA titles are reserved for a few blockbuster franchises. Most gamers are happy to spend $40‑$50 on a polished, story‑driven single‑player adventure." Developing such games is costly—typically $5 million to $20 million per title—whether the studio is in China or the West.
To break even, a game must sell roughly a million copies, a target that is increasingly difficult due to discoverability challenges in a crowded marketplace. 4Divinity’s differentiation goes beyond price and scope.
Every title on display at Gamescom is a brand‑new intellectual property, many of which are debut releases even in China. Larger publishers are hesitant to gamble on untested IPs, especially given the risk‑averse climate that has turned AAA development into a franchise‑centric business. In contrast, 4Divinity is willing to back multiple fresh IPs simultaneously. The turning point for the publisher, according to Doust, was the handling of *Black Myth: Wukong*.
GCL oversaw the game’s physical PS5 distribution worldwide and acted as the publisher in Taiwan. Because the developer, Game Science, is a Chinese studio, it lacked the infrastructure to manage 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 among the first to break through, and more studios are now emerging. 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 30 million copies, generating a substantial profit.
Chinese gamers are also highly price‑sensitive, reinforcing 4Divinity’s strategy of delivering affordable, high‑quality experiences. Doust believes there is a “massive drought of supply” for Western audiences who still crave narrative‑driven games but cannot find them at reasonable prices. His mission is to bridge the gap between Western demand for fresh, reasonably priced experiences and the supply of such games from Chinese developers. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, the chairman of GCL, I asked: what if we could find common themes that resonate both east and west?
Loyalty, trust, revenge—these are universal. We can market the same game with different cultural lenses and reach both audiences effectively. No one has done this well yet." Even without an aggressive marketing push, games tend to cross borders organically. Doust calls this the "do‑nothing" model: the publisher markets primarily in China, and a ripple effect generates sales abroad, typically an 80/20 split.
*Wukong* sold 20 million copies in China and about three to four million elsewhere, exemplifying this pattern. Doust hopes to shift the ratio to 60/40 through coordinated cross‑border campaigns, which could dramatically increase total unit sales. The company is already testing the reverse flow—bringing Western titles to China.
Its sole non‑Chinese game, *Guns Of Eschaton*, was developed by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee. After announcing the title, 4Divinity debuted it at Bilibili World in Shanghai, an early‑stage move no Western publisher typically makes.
The early exposure made China the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States. Thus, the massive Gamescom presence is a physical manifestation of this dual‑market strategy.
The publisher plans to showcase its games in Cologne shortly after they appear at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, aiming to generate simultaneous buzz in both regions rather than chasing a Chinese hit and later trying to catch up in the West. Gamescom also serves as a western coming‑out party for 4Divinity.
While individual game campaigns continue, the trade show allows the company to consolidate its messaging and make a louder noise than it could with isolated efforts. "If we’re using Gamescom to introduce our portfolio and ourselves to the West, why not go big?" Doust concludes.