Founded in 2014 and best known for Battalion 1944, Bulkhead was acquired from global technology business Tencent by a consortium comprising Super Media Group, Everplay and HIRO Capital. Super Media Group also signed a strategic partnership with Everplay, which will see collaboration on future titles, including new IP WARDOGS and further development of the popular Hell Let Loose franchise.
The team was led by partner Ed Lane, with support from managing associate Katerina Capras, associate Jake Jacobson and trainee solicitor Jacob Eardley, who advised on all corporate matters relating to the deal. The commercial and publishing aspects of the deal were led by partner and co-head of interactive entertainment Kostyantyn Lobov with support from associate Sophie Lewis. Partner David Scott advised on tax.
On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer commented:
“Harbottle & Lewis were exceptional throughout the process. This was a complex, multi-party transaction and the team worked tirelessly, often outside normal hours, to get the deal done. Ed and the wider team handled our business as if it were their own, combining deep attention to detail with a clear understanding of the commercial realities, which made a genuine difference in delivering the outcome we wanted.”
Ed Lane added:
“It was a real pleasure advising Super Media Group on this huge milestone; a complex and layered transaction that really demonstrated the strength and depth of our market-leading corporate and games practices. I look forward to seeing what they do next!”
We have been fully immersed in the interactive entertainment sector since its inception and are recognised as leaders in the sector. We specialise in corporate financing and transactions within the games industry, advising on investment, fundraising, tax credits, M&A, and rights exploitation. Learn more about our interactive entertainment practice here.
He has a particular interest and expertise in the creative industries, including film and TV, video games and music, and in the broader media, entertainment and technology sectors.
His practice spans mergers and acquisitions, fundraises from pre-seed to series A and beyond, startups, growth equity investments, public takeovers, joint ventures, management incentive arrangements, including EMI options, and SEIS/EIS investments. He is actively involved as a speaker and mentor for a number of different industry accelerators and trade bodies, including Indielab, BAFTA and UKIE.
Ed trained and qualified at Linklaters, where he spent five and a half years in the private equity M&A team acting for a variety of private equity houses and businesses on leveraged and non-leveraged buy-outs, growth equity investments, exits, management incentive arrangements and bolt-on acquisitions.
Ed is ranked as a key lawyer in The Legal 500 UK guide, and is noted for his “sector expertise”, “encyclopaedic memory” and his willingness to “go the extra mile to get the best deal.”
He has a wealth of experience providing corporate and personal tax advice to the full range of the firm’s clients and his core practice involves tax advice for entrepreneurs and their businesses. David has considerable experience advising on the tax aspects of M&A transactions and expertise in all aspects of share incentive arrangements.
David works closely with businesses at varied stages of growth and size, advising both investors and investee companies on tax efficient fundraising, including EIS and SEIS, through to an exit.
He also advises on a range of employment tax issues, including share based incentives and option schemes ranging from the implementation of EMI and CSOP share schemes to highly tailored share-based arrangements for senior management such as growth shares. He also advises on the use of employee benefit trusts (EBT) and employee ownership trusts (EOT).
As the head of the charities and philanthropy group, he advises not-for-profit organisations and individual philanthropists on all charity law issues, including commercial arrangements and corporate governance issues, as well on specific charity tax issues.
David is member of the International Tax Specialist Group (ITSG).
Kostyantyn advises on all aspects of intellectual property, advertising and regulatory issues. Being a litigator by background, he can advise at all stages of a dispute; from early-stage strategy and negotiations to litigation in the High Court and beyond. A significant part of his practice involves co-ordinating advice for projects spanning multiple jurisdictions. He also advises on the practical application of advertising codes and investigations by regulators such as the ASA, CMA and Trading Standards.
Kostyantyn works extensively with clients in the video game and esports sectors, including studios and publishers of all sizes. His wider client base includes brand owners, production companies and various members of the creative industries, tech startups, importers and distributors. They range in size from SMEs to multinational corporations with large in-house legal teams.
Kostyantyn is recognised as a leading lawyer in The Legal 500, IP Stars, and Chambers and Partners.
She has experience in advising on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder arrangements, early-stage fundraisings, share incentive schemes and joint ventures, with particular expertise in the media, entertainment and technology sectors and the wider creative industries.
She also has a particular interest in working with charities, social enterprises and philanthropic individuals and organisations and has extensive experience advising on charity formation, governance, regulatory compliance and corporate transactions involving charities and not-for-profit entities.
Katerina is recognised as a "Leading Associate" for M&A in The Legal 500 2025 as well as a "Key Lawyer" (The Legal 500 2025) and "Associate to Watch" (Chambers UK 2025) for her charities and not-for-profit work. She has been described as having “fierce attention to detail and vast knowledge, combined with a good dose of pragmatism.”
She is a member of the Charity Law Association.
Jake advises founders, serial entrepreneurs, management, venture capital funds and angel investors on a broad range of corporate matters at all stages of a company’s lifecycle, including acquisitions and disposals, financing rounds, joint ventures, corporate restructurings and re-organisations, shareholder arrangements, and employee and management share incentivisation schemes.
Jake joined Harbottle & Lewis in 2019 as a trainee solicitor and qualified in 2021.
Sophie advises video game studios, developers, publishers and platforms on digital regulation and compliance. Her practice covers consumer law, advertising regulation, AI law, age ratings, loot boxes, gambling regulation, virtual currencies, micro-transactions, subscription models and online safety. Sophie has direct experience managing regulators, including responding to ASA investigations and a six-month secondment in the Consumer Enforcement Team at the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. She often coordinates multi-country projects for clients expanding internationally, translating complex regulatory frameworks into practical compliance plans.
She also supports clients on a wide spectrum of commercial contracts, including development agreements, publishing agreements, IP licences, EULAs, terms and conditions, influencer agreements, talent contracts, subscription agreements, NDAs and other service agreements. Sophie has a keen personal interest in video gaming and is passionate about supporting this sector. She regularly provides training on games regulation and breaks down complicated compliance issues for a range of audiences, from developers to legal teams and business operations.
Sophie is recognised as a key lawyer and leading associate in Legal 500 for video games.