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Acquisition and Strategic Partnership

In brief · summary, not quotable

Everplay acquires 20% stake in Super Media Group and partners with Bulkhead on new FPS game Wardogs.

  • Minority stake acquired in Super Media Group 20%
  • Consideration paid £2.0 million
  • Bulkhead employee count more than 100
Full announcement

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everplay, a leading global independent games developer and publisher of premium video games, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 20% minority stake in Super Media Group ("SMG") for a total consideration of £2.0 million.

SMG comprises of Bulkhead - an independent UK-based, first-person shooter ("FPS") specialist game developer. The studio has been acquired from Tencent by a newly-formed consortium comprising SMG, everplay and HIRO Capital.

Founded in 2014, Bulkhead has proved itself to be a best-in-class developer of indie FPS titles, including Battalion 1944. The FPS genre is one of the biggest and most dynamic in the gaming sector and Bulkhead has invested in proprietary Unreal Engine tooling with its 'War Tech Framework', enabling faster FPS development cycles built around realistic FPS mechanics.

Alongside everplay's equity investment, the Group will partner with the studio on a new title. Wardogs is a high-quality, Unreal Engine 5 All Out Warfare multiplayer FPS to be published by Team17, planned for Early Access release on PC in 2026 and a full multi-platform release in 2027. In addition, the Group is exploring co-development opportunities for future titles within Team17's best-selling Hell Let Loose franchise.

Frank Sagnier, Interim Executive Chair of everplay, commented:

"This partnership reinforces everplay's existing strong position within the FPS genre. Collaborating with the exceptional Bulkhead team secures incredible new game content, while our equity 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 transaction is fully aligned with our focus on growing first-party IP revenues and disciplined capital deployment, while providing a highly attractive return on investment."

About Super Media Group

Super Media Group comprises of Bulkhead, an independent FPS specialist development studio led by Joe Brammer, Kevin Chandler and Mark Pinney. Founded in Derby, UK in 2014 with just six developers, Bulkhead has grown to more than 100 employees over ten years. Its portfolio includes The Turing Test, Battalion 1944, and Killrun. Bulkhead has been named one of the UK's Best Places to Work by GamesIndustry.biz for two consecutive years. everplay group plc and HIRO Capital are founding shareholders in Super Media Group, securing minority stakes in the company alongside the acquisition of Bulkhead.

About Hiro Capital

Hiro Capital is a founder-led London and Luxembourg based Venture Capital firm investing in the Superabundant future of humanity. Hiro invests from Series A to Series C / Scale-Up, in our specialist thematic sectors of AI, Spatial Computing, Autonomy, Robotics, Longevity, Augmentation, Games, Simulation and Space & Defence technologies. We focus on entrepreneurs and innovators in the broadly defined Europe+ region, which includes the EU, UK, Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine. We are founders & leaders who back Founder Leaders. We are optimists and futurists. We believe that Europe+ can and should be a global leader in the next phase of human evolution, enabled by technology. We know that people's creativity, ambition and entrepreneurship will build better human societies.

Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.

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