Bulkhead (stylised in all caps) (formerly Bulkhead Interactive) is a British video game developer known for games like Wardogs and Battalion 1944. Bulkhead was founded in November 2015 in Derby, England, by University of Derby graduates Joe Brammer, David Jones, and Howard Philpott.
In 2018, video game publisher Square Enix Collective bought 20% of Bulkhead, leading to the 2019 video game Battalion 1944 being published by Square Enix Collective. Battalion 1944 became Bulkhead's biggest project at the time and sold over 500,000 units. In 2022, Bulkhead joined Tencent but quickly left when they declined the idea of their now biggest game, Wardogs, which was later published by Team17.
History
Bulkhead Interactive was founded on 18 November 2015 in Derby, England, by Joe Brammer, David Jones, and Howard Philpott. The first video game made by Bulkhead, which was Pneuma: Breath of Life, was not actually by Bulkhead but rather by two studios called Deco Digital and Bevel Studios, who merged to form Bulkhead. Bulkhead's first official video game under their name was The Turing Test. In 2018, a 20% stake in Bulkhead was acquired by video game publisher Square Enix, building on the developer's prior partnership with the Square Enix Collective indie label. After the acquisition, they published Bulkhead's 2019 video game Battalion 1944. In 2019, they launched Battalion 1944, which was a commercial success, and it became Bulkhead's biggest game, selling over 580,000 units.
In 2020, Bulkhead moved their offices to Cardinal Square; it expanded their office to over 6,000 ft. Meanwhile, they also renamed their office in Munich to Bulkhead Darkhorse and their office in Derby to Bulkhead Phoenix. For years Square Enix Collective was the publisher behind many Bulkhead games, but in 2022 Bulkhead ended relationships with them because console ports for Battalion 1944 were cancelled. In December 2022, Bulkhead joined Tencent after being purchased by Splash Damage, which is owned by Tencent, although Bulkhead quickly left when they proposed their now most popular video game, Wardogs, with a budget of £10 million to £12 million, but Tencent declined the idea and said it was "throwing money at people and problems".
After this, Bulkhead joined a consortium with Team17, who liked the idea, and in 2026, Wardogs was announced as a "Tactical All Out Warfare". In December 2025, HIRO Capital bought part of Bulkhead and helped it go independent. After the release of their video game Wardogs, Joe Brammer received backlash after he said that he expects developers at Bulkhead to work intensely and overtime. He later apologised for it.
