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 occupied by a company many attendees may not recognize: 4Divinity.
"It’s massive by any metric," explains Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The firm is presenting six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of which will appear in the associated trailer showcases, and four will be displayed on the public 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 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 highlights is a recreation of the Hollywood Hills—rebranded as the Neo Yokohama Hills in the alternate‑history setting of the 80s‑style RPG *Showa American Story*, 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 to try the game. It’s all about immersion," he says. When asked about the cost, Doust declines to give an exact figure, calling it "crass," but 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—something not every Chinese‑based publisher is prepared to do." The reason this relatively unknown company can afford such a spend lies in its corporate parent, Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, which also owns a range of unrelated businesses, including an imitation‑diamond jewellery line.
GCL’s origins trace back to a physical‑distribution operation called Epicsoft, a business that has been running for nearly two decades. While the shift toward digital has made disc production a shrinking segment, Doust notes that GCL will continue to press discs as long as Sony permits them, but the company recognises the need to diversify into digital publishing. 4Divinity was 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 rare; the company succeeded with *Atomic Heart*, which performed exceptionally well in the Chinese market, and later repeated the feat with *Stalker 2*.
However, those successes were outliers rather than a sustainable growth model for a Nasdaq‑listed group. "From a growth standpoint, we needed a truly global publishing strategy," Doust says. The firm began signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release even before he joined in late 2024. At that time, the slate already included 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 period of rapid expansion. 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 US‑based ProbablyMonsters. Doust believes this segment reflects current player preferences. "People don’t have the time or desire to invest 200 hours in a live‑service game. An $80 blockbuster is reserved for a handful of titles, but there’s a willingness to spend $40‑50 on a solid single‑player adventure." Developing such games is costly—typically $5‑20 million per title—whether the studio is in China or the West.
Adding operating expenses means a game often needs to sell a million copies just to break even, a target that is increasingly difficult given discoverability challenges. 4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on new intellectual property. "Everything you’ll see from us at Gamescom is brand‑new IP," Doust says.
Even in China, many of these titles are fresh, and they are entirely unknown to Western audiences. Larger publishers tend to shy away from betting on multiple new IPs, especially as development costs soar and AAA studios become risk‑averse, focusing on established franchises. The turning point for 4Divinity’s global ambition, according to Doust, was the distribution 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, it lacked the infrastructure to manage global logistics, giving 4Divinity a foothold. The success of *Wukong* opened a broader window. After the 2016 lifting of China’s console ban, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home and formed console‑oriented studios.
*Wukong* was among the first to break through, and more are following. With two offices in China, GCL now has direct access to a burgeoning pool of talent producing high‑quality games at a fraction of Western development costs.
Tax filings suggest *Wukong* cost just over 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) to develop, yet it sold 30 million copies, delivering a massive profit margin. Doust stresses that lower production costs and price‑sensitive Chinese gamers shape 4Divinity’s strategy.
The company aims to match Western demand for affordable, high‑quality experiences with the supply of cost‑effective Chinese development. "There’s a huge drought of supply for this type of game," he notes, arguing that most major publishers have retreated from this niche for financial reasons, but player appetite remains.
His personal thesis, formed while working with GCL chairman Jacky Choo, is to find thematic bridges between East and West—universal concepts like loyalty, revenge, and defiance—and market the same game with tailored messaging for each region. He believes few have executed this cross‑cultural approach successfully. Even without active promotion, games can cross borders organically. Doust calls that the "do‑nothing" model: the publisher markets primarily in China, and a ripple effect generates modest sales abroad, typically an 80/20 split (80 % of sales in China, 20 % elsewhere).
*Wukong* followed this pattern, selling about 20 million copies in China and 3‑4 million internationally. The goal for 4Divinity is to shift that ratio toward a 60/40 split, which would significantly increase overall unit sales. Doust imagines that if *Wukong* had achieved such a balance, it could have become the best‑selling game of all time relative to its modest development budget. To test the model in the opposite direction, 4Divinity recently launched *Guns of Eschaton*, a title developed outside China by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee.
The first promotional push took place at Bilibili World, Shanghai’s massive anime and pop‑culture convention—an unconventional move for a Western studio. The early buzz propelled China to become the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States, demonstrating the viability of a reverse‑flow strategy. The expansive Gamescom presence, therefore, mirrors this dual‑market approach.
The company is timing its Cologne showcase just weeks after a ChinaJoy debut in Shanghai, aiming to generate simultaneous traction in both regions rather than chasing a delayed Western follow‑up after a Chinese hit. Beyond individual game campaigns, Gamescom serves as 4Divinity’s western coming‑out party.
While the firm continues to run game‑by‑game marketing, the trade show allows it to bundle its entire portfolio into one high‑impact event, creating a louder signal in a market where it has previously been quiet. Doust concludes, "If we’re using Gamescom to introduce our portfolio and ourselves to the West, why not go big?"