From distributor to developer: GCL's ambition to create Asian IPs for the world

gamesindustry.biz:

While the name might not sound as familiar in the west, GCL is one of the biggest digital entertainment companies in Asia, publishing titles like Black Myth Wukong, Stalker 2, and Atomic Heart on the continent, and distributing titles from some of the biggest companies in games including Take-Two, CD Projekt Red, Sega, and Warner Bros.

"GCL is a group of six brands that cover the spectrum of gaming in Asia," chief marketing officer and head of publishing Keith Liu tells GamesIndustry.biz when we meet at Gamescom Asia. "We're one of the larger gaming companies in this region, from publishing our games to distribution, to having an influencer marketing agency and a digital games retail brand called 2Game."

The firm also does accessories and digital vault technology, and is headquartered in Singapore, with branches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China. It is also nurturing strong relationships in Japan and Korea as well.

GCL's publishing branch is called 4Divinity and it often assumes the role of co-publisher for AAA titles across Asian territories. For instance, it co-published the recently released Stalker 2 in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, while Plaion and Sega handled Europe and Japan, respectively.

For a title like JDM: Japanese Drift Master, 4Divinity acted as co-publisher for PC only in Asia Pacific, which includes Japan and Korea. Next year, it'll work alongside My Games' new publishing branch, Knights Peak, to release Mandragora in Asia. It handled similar responsibilities for Kong: Survivor Instinct, Atomic Heart, Daymore, and more.

"We've got all these titles, many of them we bring in from the West to the Asian market, but increasingly we are also looking at bringing titles from Asia to the rest of the world," Liu says.

"Asia is quite a fragmented market," he continues when we ask why developers might need the help of 4Divinity. "Aside from the ratings, which you've got a few of, there are also differences in languages, differences in what [Asian gamers] really