Chinese technology and entertainment giant Tencent has sold British developer Bulkhead Interactive to a newly formed consortium consisting of Super Media Group (SMG), Team 17 parent company Everplay Group PLC and Hiro Capital. In 2022, the studio was acquired by Splash Damage, which itself was owned by Tencent but has since been sold to private equity.
Bulkhead is best known for its first-person shooter games, mainly the military first-person shooter Battalion 1944. The studio is currently working on a new project, Wardogs, which will be published by Team17. The game will be released in early access on PC in 2026, and will be released on other platforms next year.
SMG was founded in October and its directors are Bulkhead Interactive CEO Joe Brammer, CTO Kevin Chandler and CFO Mark Pinney, according to Companies House. Meanwhile, Everplay – formerly the group Team17 – separately announced that it had acquired a 20% stake in Super Media Group worth £2 million. Hiro Capital has a minority stake, but how much of the studio it owns has not been disclosed, and the firm declined to comment when asked.
Super Media Group is also “exploring” the possibility of co-developing future entries within Team17. Hell Let Loose franchise.
“We are very excited about this partnership and our future collaboration on the Hell Let Loose franchise, as well as Wardogs entering Early Access next year,” said Bulkhead’s Brammer.
“Most importantly, we are proud to support all of our team members as we move forward.”
Everplay Interim Executive Chairman Frank Sagnier added: “This partnership strengthens Everplay's existing strong position in the FPS genre. The collaboration with the exceptional Bulkhead team is delivering incredible new gaming content, and our stake in SMG speaks to our commitment to a long-term relationship with the studio, the FPS genre and the Hell Let Loose franchise. The deal is fully consistent with our commitment to growing IP revenue and disciplined capital allocation, while delivering highly attractive returns on investment.”
Bulkhead was acquired for an undisclosed sum in 2022 by UK developer Splash Damage.. However, at the time, both studios were working on a licensed game, Transformers: Reactivate. the game was ultimately cancelled, and a number of roles at the studio were in danger of being cut.. Bulkhead fired some employees in July.
Splash Damage split from Tencent in Septemberwhen the company was acquired by a still unknown group of private investors. Since then, the entire studio underwent consultations before layoffs.
