Strolling through Gamescom, the massive, eye‑catching booths you encounter are usually attached to household names—Capcom, Xbox, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, and the like. This year, however, a substantial portion of Halls 6 and 7 is occupied by a company most attendees probably don’t recognize: 4Divinity.
"It’s huge by any measure," says 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 games will be displayed on the public floor across two separate stands, the larger of which covers roughly 800 square metres. The ambition goes beyond sheer size; Doust emphasizes the visual spectacle as well. "We’ve hired one of the top booth builders at Gamescom and left no stone unturned," he notes.
One of the most striking installations is for the 1980s‑inspired RPG *Showa American Story*. The booth recreates a Hollywood‑Hills‑style landscape, rebranded as the 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 into to try the game. It’s a fully immersive experience," Doust explains. When pressed about the cost, Doust refuses to give an exact figure, calling it "crass," but he confirms that the investment runs into the millions.
"The scale of our footprint alone shows we’re committing resources at that level. It reflects how seriously we’re taking the Western market—a commitment not all Chinese‑based firms share or even understand." The reason this relatively unknown publisher can afford such a spend lies in its parent company, Singapore‑based GCL Global Holdings, which owns a handful of gaming businesses and even an imitation‑diamond jewellery line. GCL’s core revenue historically came from physical distribution through Epicsoft, a business that has operated for nearly two decades. While physical disc production is declining—especially after Sony’s recent moves—GCL still maintains that segment as long as there is demand for discs, but it acknowledges the need to pivot toward digital.
Enter 4Divinity, founded in 2022 as a co‑publisher to help Western developers bring titles to Southeast Asia. Doust points out that finding a Western game that performs strongly in China is exceptionally difficult.
The company succeeded with *Atomic Heart*, which saw a massive Chinese audience, and later replicated that success with *Stalker 2*. However, those were outliers rather than a sustainable growth model for a Nasdaq‑listed group. "From a growth standpoint, we needed a global publishing strategy," Doust says. The firm began signing Chinese‑developed games for worldwide release before Doust joined in late 2024.
At that time, they already had a few smaller indie projects and the ambitious *Showa American Story* in the pipeline. Since then, the portfolio has expanded to eight titles slated for release over the next two years, marking a rapid growth phase. All of the announced games share common traits: they are primarily single‑player experiences, run 15–20 hours, and sit in the mid‑tier price bracket. 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 captures what many gamers currently want: a concise, story‑driven adventure that doesn’t demand the 200‑hour commitment of a live‑service title. While blockbuster AAA games command $80 price tags, players are increasingly willing to spend $40‑$50 on a high‑quality single‑player experience. Developing such games is costly, ranging from $5 million to $20 million per title, regardless of whether the studio is in China or the West. To break even, a game often needs to sell around a million copies—a challenging target given today’s discoverability hurdles.
4Divinity’s approach also diverges in its emphasis on new intellectual property. Every title showcased at Gamescom is a fresh IP, many of which are brand‑new to both Chinese and Western audiences. Larger publishers tend to shy away from untested IPs, especially after the rising development costs have turned AAA into a franchise‑focused business.
Only a handful of emerging Chinese studios are willing to take those risks. The turning point for 4Divinity, 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 Chinese developer, lacked the infrastructure to do this themselves, 4Divinity stepped in from its Singapore base.
*Wukong*’s triumph highlighted a broader opportunity. Since China lifted its console ban in 2016, many Chinese developers who had been working abroad returned home and formed console‑oriented studios. *Black Myth* was one of the first high‑profile releases, and more are following. With two offices in China, GCL now has direct access to a pool of talent producing games at a fraction of Western development costs.
Tax filings suggest *Wukong* cost roughly 300 million yuan (about $44.6 million) to develop, yet it sold 30 million copies, generating a substantial profit. Doust notes that lower production costs and price‑sensitive Chinese gamers shape 4Divinity’s regional strategy.
He argues that while many major publishers have retreated from this segment for financial reasons, consumer appetite for affordable, narrative‑driven games remains strong, creating a “massive drought of supply.” His mission is to bridge Western demand for fresh, reasonably priced experiences with the supply that Chinese developers can deliver efficiently. "When I started working with Jacky Choo, GCL’s chairman, I asked, ‘What if we can find common themes between East and West?’" Doust says.
Themes like loyalty, revenge, and defiance are universal, allowing the same marketing assets to be repurposed with culturally tailored messaging. Even without a concerted cross‑border push, games tend to find their way across regions.
Doust calls this the company’s “do‑nothing” business model: they market primarily in China, which creates a ripple effect abroad, typically resulting in an 80/20 split—80 % of sales in China, 20 % elsewhere. *Wukong* exemplified this, selling 20 million copies in China and 3‑4 million internationally. The goal now is to shift that ratio toward a 60/40 split, which would dramatically increase total unit sales. Doust speculates that if *Wukong* had achieved such a balance, it might have become the best‑selling game of all time relative to its modest development budget.
The company’s cross‑border ambition is described as a modern Silk Road, moving titles east‑to‑west and west‑to‑east. Currently, the only non‑Chinese game in the portfolio is *Guns Of Eschaton*, created by Eschatology Entertainment, a Cyprus‑based studio founded by a former Wargaming employee.
The marketing campaign for this title began in China, with an early appearance at Bilibili World in Shanghai—an approach no Western publisher typically takes at such an early stage. The early exposure propelled China to become the second‑largest wishlist market for the game after the United States. Thus, the massive Gamescom presence mirrors this dual‑market strategy.
4Divinity’s titles will debut in Cologne shortly after a showcase at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, ensuring simultaneous exposure in both territories rather than a staggered rollout that would force the company to chase after Chinese momentum. Beyond promoting individual games, Gamescom serves as the Western “coming‑out party” for 4Divinity. While the firm does run title‑specific campaigns, the trade show allows it to bundle all its announcements into a single, high‑impact event. "We haven’t done much in the West yet, so this is our chance to make a splash," Doust says.
"If we’re presenting an entire portfolio, why not go all‑in?"