Strolling through Gamescom, the sprawling exhibition halls are usually dominated by big‑name booths that most visitors instantly recognize – Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a sizeable portion of Halls 6 and 7 is occupied by a name that may not ring a bell for many attendees: 4Divinity.
"By any measure, it’s massive," says Philip Doust, director of 4Divinity’s UK arm, when describing the company’s Gamescom footprint. The publisher is presenting six titles within the closed‑door B2B zone, five of those featured in the accompanying trailer showcases, and four titles on the public floor across two separate stands. The larger of the two public spaces spans roughly 800 square metres.
Doust emphasizes that the scale is matched by the spectacle: "We’ve hired one of the top booth‑construction firms at Gamescom and left no stone unturned." One of the highlighted experiences, the 80s‑style pop‑culture RPG *Showa American Story*, includes a re‑imagined Hollywood Hills set now called Neo Yokohama Hills, an alternate‑timeline version 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 while they try the game.
It’s all about immersion," Doust adds. When pressed about the cost, Doust is vague but clear: "I can’t give exact numbers – that would be crass – but we’re talking millions of dollars. The sheer size of our footprint signals the level of investment. It shows how seriously we’re taking the Western market, something not every Chinese‑origin company can claim or even understand." The reason this publisher can afford such a splash is its corporate backing.
4Divinity is part of Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, a conglomerate that also owns a faux‑diamond jewellery business. GCL’s roots lie in a physical‑distribution venture called Epicsoft, which has been operating for nearly two decades. While physical media is a shrinking segment – especially after Sony’s recent moves away from disc production – GCL still maintains that line as long as discs remain viable, acknowledging its decline and the need to pivot toward digital. 4Divinity emerged 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 truly resonates in China is challenging. 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 group like GCL.
"From a growth standpoint we needed a truly global publishing strategy," Doust explains. The shift involved signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release – a process that began before Doust joined in late 2024. By the time he arrived, the slate already included a handful of indie projects and the ambitious *Showa American Story*. Since then the portfolio has swelled to eight titles slated for launch over the next two years, marking a rapid expansion phase.
A common thread runs through the current lineup: all titles are primarily single‑player experiences, lasting roughly 15‑20 hours, and priced in the mid‑tier range. This focus was not pre‑planned but emerged as a coherent strategy aimed at the “squeezed middle” of the market – a segment also being explored by U.S.
firm ProbablyMonsters. Doust believes this is what many gamers now crave: "People don’t have the time or desire to invest 200 hours into a live‑service game. The $80 AAA titles are reserved for a few blockbuster franchises, but there’s a willingness to spend $40‑50 on a well‑crafted single‑player adventure." Developing such games is costly, regardless of geography.
"These projects typically require $5‑20 million in development funds. Whether you’re in China or the West, that’s a significant gamble," Doust says. To break even, a title needs to sell about a million copies – a daunting target given today’s 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 states. Even within China, many of these concepts are fresh, and they are entirely novel to Western audiences as well.
Larger publishers tend to avoid betting on unproven IPs, especially as AAA development becomes increasingly risk‑averse and franchise‑driven. Only a few emerging Chinese studios are willing to take that leap.
The catalyst for this strategic pivot, according to Doust, was the success 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 Chinese, they lacked the infrastructure to manage global logistics, giving GCL an entry point. *Wukong* demonstrated the untapped potential of Chinese developers now able to target consoles after the 2016 ban lift.
Many Chinese studios that had been creating games for Western PC markets returned home, forming new console‑focused teams. Doust notes that development costs in China are considerably lower – the game’s budget was reported at roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) – while the title sold an estimated 30 million copies, delivering a substantial profit margin.
Affordability and price sensitivity shape 4Divinity’s regional strategy. Chinese gamers tend to be more cost‑conscious, prompting the publisher to position its titles at accessible price points while still delivering high‑quality experiences.
Doust argues that, although major Western publishers have retreated from funding mid‑budget single‑player games for financial reasons, consumer appetite for such experiences remains strong, creating a “massive drought of supply.” His mission is to bridge Western demand for fresh, reasonably priced experiences with the supply chain that Chinese developers can provide. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, GCL’s chairman, my thesis was: can we find thematic common ground between East and West? Themes like loyalty, revenge, defiance are universal.
We market the same game with different messaging tailored to each region – something I think no one has done effectively yet." Even without a concerted cross‑border push, games tend to travel. Doust calls this the "do‑nothing" model: the publisher markets primarily in China, and a ripple effect generates modest sales elsewhere, typically an 80/20 split. *Wukong* exemplified this, selling 20 million units in China and about three‑four million abroad. Doust envisions shifting that balance toward a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase overall sales volumes.
He muses that if *Wukong* had achieved such a ratio, it might have become the best‑selling game of all time relative to its development budget. The ultimate aim is a two‑way cultural exchange – an analogue of the historic Silk Road – moving games east‑to‑west and west‑to‑east. Currently, 4Divinity’s only non‑Chinese title is *Guns Of Eschaton*, created by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee.
The marketing launch began in China, with the first major push at Bilibili World, Shanghai’s massive anime and pop‑culture convention. Doust notes that no Western publisher typically promotes a new game at such an early stage in China, yet the move generated enough buzz to make China the second‑largest wishlist market for the title after the United States.
The expansive Gamescom presence mirrors this dual‑market strategy. The publisher’s titles will appear in Cologne shortly after a showcase at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, ensuring simultaneous exposure in both regions rather than a staggered rollout that would force the company to chase after Chinese momentum later.
Doust explains that while they could run separate campaigns for each game, Gamescom offers a platform to consolidate the effort into one high‑impact event, amplifying brand awareness in the West where the publisher is still relatively unknown. "If we’re using Gamescom as a portfolio showcase, why not go big?" he concludes.