GCL’s Vision: Cultivating Asian IPs for the Global Arena

Although the name may not seem as recognizable in the West, GCL is truly one of the leading digital entertainment companies in Asia, releasing titles such as Dark Story Wukong, Stalker 2, and Atomic Heart on the continent, and distributing games from some of the most prominent firms in the industry, including Take-Two, CD Projekt Red, Sega, and Warner Bros.

“GCL comprises six distinct brands that encompass the full spectrum of gaming in Asia,” says chief marketing officer and head of publishing Keith Liu during our meeting at Gamescom Asia. “We are one of the largest gaming firms in this region, engaging in everything from publishing our own games to distribution, as well as operating an influencer marketing agency and a digital gaming retail platform called 2Game.”

The company also specializes in accessories and digital storage technology, holding its headquarters in Singapore with branches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. It is actively fostering strong partnerships in Japan and Korea as well.

GCL’s publishing arm, known as 4Divinity, often takes on the role of co-publisher for AAA titles throughout Asian markets. For instance, it co-published the recently launched Stalker 2 in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, while Plaion and Sega managed Europe and Japan, respectively.

For a title like JDM: Japanese Drift Master, 4Divinity served as a co-publisher for the PC version across the Asia Pacific, which includes Japan and Korea. Next year, it plans to collaborate with My Games’ newly established publishing division, Knights Top, to introduce Mandragora in Asia. It has performed similar tasks for Kong: Survivor Instinct, Atomic Heart, Daymore, and more.

“We have access to numerous titles; many of them we bring from the West to the Asian market, but increasingly we are also interested in introducing Asian titles to the global audience,” Liu states.

“Asia is quite a fragmented market,” he continues when asked why developers might benefit from 4Divinity’s assistance. “Apart from the rankings that you mentioned, there are also differences in languages, variations in what [Asian gamers] genuinely want to play, and unique ways to connect with them regarding social media platforms. Many of these countries, in terms of these aspects, are more localized. Therefore, it can be somewhat challenging to navigate within Asia, and often, if a Western publisher wishes to return to Asia, they may end up needing to partner with various local entities for different territories.

“We have assisted in building that network, as well as developing the connections and skill sets necessary to address Asia— not as a single entity, because one size does not fit all— but enabling us to function efficiently in these territories with a more localized approach. I believe that’s what they value about our services; for them, we’re essentially a single point of contact,” he chuckles.

“We are the one partner that can facilitate access to China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, each representing distinct markets. We started with our distribution network, Epicsoft Asia, which has been operational for 16 years.”

The principal title that Epicsoft Asia distributed was Grand Theft Auto 4, and it has continued to collaborate with Take-Two for GTA titles and Red Dead Redemption since then. The company also worked with CD Projekt Red and distributed Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, along with handling all of Sega Japan’s titles for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and to a certain extent, China, Liu mentions. For Warner Bros, it contributed to titles like Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, and more.

“These brands have trusted us over the years, and we’ve maintained these relationships for quite some time, so it’s not just a one-time collaboration. This also indicates that they are satisfied with our performance. Thus, we have expanded this collaboration into the publishing sector as well, extending our reach into Japan, Korea, and similar markets.”

And this step represents a significant evolution for GCL, as the company revealed last year that it was preparing to go public on Nasdaq to fulfill its gaming development ambitions. Liu informs us that it will follow a De-SPAC route instead of a traditional IPO, and that the process “isn’t as swift as [they] would have liked,” but there will be updates soon.

“We [are] still making efforts to tap into the capital markets for more funding and investment to grow GCL into a much larger conglomerate so that we can start creating games. We definitely have plans to develop our own titles, and we hold very high ambitions and aspirations not just to create any game; we aim to develop something impactful and significant that people will remember and talk about.

“So while it’s going to be on the higher budget end [and] we’re still refining those plans, game development is undeniably part of our trajectory. It must be because, in the end, we aspire to be a company that creates and owns intellectual property.”

“Game development is something that’s on our trajectory… At the end of the day, you want to be a company that creates IP and owns IP.”

GCL aims to produce IPs that are “more Asian,” Liu adds, taking inspiration from the success of Dark Story: Wukong.

“We are striving to introduce aspects of Asian culture to the rest of the world. I think Dark Story: Wukong, for example, has provided valuable insights for the entire gaming industry globally.

“We are learning from this success; we perceive that the launch of this title, its narrative, and how well it has performed presents a positive opportunity for the entire industry, which has faced numerous challenges lately, correct? All the job cuts and the expansions pre-COVID that led to downturns post-COVID…