Square Enix has announced that it has purchased a fifth of shares of UK-based game studio Bulkhead Interactive.

The firm says that the two will continue to work together on a brand new IP following Batallion 1944's launch out of Steam Early Access. As a result of this, Square Enix Collective director Phil Elliott will be joining the studio's board. No value has been placed on the deal just yet. 

The duo have worked together twice before on The Turing Test and the aforementioned military shooter.

“I’m really excited that we’re taking this step to deepen our partnership with the team at Bulkhead,” said Elliott.

“From the first meeting we had back in 2015 it was clear to me that the team had a great deal of potential, and we’re really looking forward to helping them continue to unlock that in the years to come.”

Bulkhead boss Joe Brammer (pictured) added: “It’s been a great experience working with Phil and the team at Square Enix – they’ve always been supportive, looking out for the interests of us as well as the games we’ve worked on, and this opportunity to build on that relationship is a great next step for the studio as we expand and search for new talent to join our team.”