Walking through Gamescom’s bustling halls, the most eye‑catching booths are usually attached 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 most attendees probably haven’t heard of: 4Divinity. "It’s massive by any standard," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, describing the publisher’s Gamescom footprint. The firm is showcasing six titles in the closed‑door B2B zone, five of those in dedicated trailer presentations, and four on the public show floor across two separate stands, the larger of which spans roughly 800 square metres.
The ambition goes beyond sheer size; Doust emphasizes that the company hired one of the event’s premier booth builders and spared no expense on the production. One of the most striking installations is for the 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*.
The set recreates the Hollywood Hills—re‑imagined as the “Neo Yokohama Hills” in an alternate timeline where Japan governs 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 into 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," but confirms that the investment runs into the millions of dollars. "The scale of our footprint alone shows the level of commitment. It signals how seriously we’re taking the Western market—a stance not all Chinese firms share or understand." The reason this publisher can afford such a splash is that 4Divinity is part of a larger Singapore‑based conglomerate, GCL Global Holdings, which also owns an imitation‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s roots lie in physical game distribution through Epicsoft, a venture that has been operating for nearly two decades.
While the physical‑media market is shrinking—especially after recent Sony announcements—GCL still maintains it as long as disc production remains viable, but acknowledges the need to pivot toward digital revenue streams. 4Divinity was founded in 2022 as a co‑publisher to help Western developers bring their games into Southeast Asia. Doust notes that finding a Western title that resonates in China is a tall order. The company succeeded 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 for a Nasdaq‑listed company like GCL. "From a growth perspective we needed a truly global publishing strategy," Doust says.
Consequently, 4Divinity began acquiring Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release. By the time Doust joined in late 2024, the portfolio already included a few indie projects and the ambitious *Showa American Story*.
Today the slate has expanded to eight titles slated for launch over the next two years, marking a rapid growth phase. The common thread among these games is their focus on single‑player experiences that typically run 15‑20 hours and sit in the mid‑tier price bracket. This wasn’t a pre‑planned formula but rather an organic strategy that aligns with what Doust describes as the “squeezed middle” of the market—a niche also being explored by US‑based ProbablyMonsters. "Players don’t want to invest 200 hours into a live‑service game, nor can they justify paying $80 for a single‑player title.
A $40‑$50 price point for a well‑crafted experience hits the sweet spot," he says. Developing such games costs between $5 million and $20 million, whether in China or the West. To break even, a title must sell roughly a million copies, a challenging target given today’s discoverability problems. Doust acknowledges that the AA segment is crowded, but 4Divinity differentiates itself by focusing on brand‑new IPs.
"Even in China, these are fresh concepts, and in the West they’re completely unknown. Bigger publishers shy away from betting on multiple new IPs because AAA development has become extremely risk‑averse, turning into a franchise‑driven business." 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, leveraging its Singapore base to bridge the gap for the Chinese developer Game Science. The success of *Wukong* highlighted a broader opportunity: since China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese studios that had been working for Western publishers have returned home and begun creating console‑ready titles.
*Wukong* reportedly cost around 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) to develop and sold 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit margin. Doust points out that development costs in China are generally lower and Chinese gamers are highly price‑sensitive, shaping 4Divinity’s approach to offer affordable, high‑quality experiences. His overarching mission is to match Western demand for fresh, reasonably priced single‑player games with the supply of Chinese developers who can produce them efficiently. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, the GCL chairman, I asked: what common themes link East and West?
Loyalty, trust, defiance, revenge—these universal narratives can be marketed with the same assets but tailored messaging for each region. No one has really nailed that yet." Even without a concerted cross‑border push, games tend to travel. Doust calls this the company’s “do‑nothing” business: they market 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 that ratio. The goal now is to shift that balance to a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase unit sales and could potentially make a title one of the best‑selling games ever relative to its modest development budget. 4Divinity is also experimenting with reverse promotion—bringing Western titles to Chinese audiences early.
Their first non‑Chinese game, *Guns Of Eschaton*, developed by a Cyprus studio, was launched at Bilibili World in Shanghai, a move rarely seen from Western publishers at such an early stage. The campaign generated enough buzz that China became the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States.
The massive Gamescom presence is essentially a live demonstration of this bi‑directional strategy. By showcasing their portfolio in Cologne shortly after a ChinaJoy debut, 4Divinity aims to generate simultaneous momentum in both markets rather than chasing a post‑China success. Doust emphasizes that Gamescom serves as the Western coming‑out party for the publisher, allowing them to consolidate multiple game campaigns into one high‑impact event. "If we’re using Gamescom to introduce our portfolio and ourselves to the West, why not go big?"