Imagine Publishing was a UK-based magazine

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, which published a number of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...

creative Creative may refer to: *Creativity, phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created * "Creative" (song), a 2008 song by Leon Jackson * Creative class, a proposed socioeconomic class * Creative destruction, an economic term * Creative dir ...

and lifestyle magazines. It was founded on 14 May 2005 with private funds by Damian Butt, Steven Boyd and Mark Kendrick, all were former directors of Paragon Publishing, and launched with a core set of six

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

and

creative computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...

titles in the first 6 months of trading. It was taken over by

Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

on 21 October 2016. In October 2005, it had acquired the only retro games magazine Retro Gamer, after its original publisher, Live Publishing went bankrupt. Early in 2006, it further acquired the rights to publish a considerable number of titles including gamesTM, Play, PowerStation, X360, Digital Photographer and iCreate, from the old Paragon Publishing stable of magazines when owner Highbury House Communications went into liquidation, following Future Publishing's withdrawal of its offer to buy the company, due to threats of a monopoly-investigation by the United Kingdom Competition Commission. In May 2006, Imagine launched its first bookazines, initially focusing on technology content for Photoshop and Mac. This portfolio would become one of Imagine's core strengths, with worldwide distribution, notably in the US and Australia. In 2007 Imagine launched

SciFiNow ''SciFiNow'' was a British magazine published every four weeks by Kelsey Media in the United Kingdom, covering the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres. It launched in April 2007, with the print publication ceasing in May 2020. Following t ...

, the Official Corel Painter Magazine, HD Review and Total PC Gaming. Total 911 was acquired from 9 Publishing in 2008, and was purchased to demonstrate that Imagine's efficient publishing model could be applied to any market, not just technology. 2009 saw the company's most significant and successful new magazine launch - How It Works, which quickly became Imagine's flagship title and paved the way for the creation of a whole knowledge division. How It Works was the brainchild of CD Mark Kendrick, whose love of 70s Ladybird books spawned a desire to create a lavishly illustrated, simple-to-understand new educational magazine for families. Linux User & Developer was acquired in 2009. 3D Artist was launched into the niche CGI magazine market. Imagine's main videogames website NowGamer.com went live in 2009 also. In partnership with PixelMags, Imagine became the second publisher to migrate its entire portfolio as digital editions on the iPad/iPhone for the US launch in March 2010. Imagine launched the world's third title for the Android OS - Android Magazine in 2011, following successful bookazine tests of this topic. 2011 also saw Imagine embrace digital publishing further by giving all employees a free iPad, or cash alternative. In 2012 Imagine expanded its knowledge magazine division with new launch All About Space, followed in 2013 with All About History and World of Animals. A new digital editions publishing platform - Martini - went live in this year, with all Imagine titles migrating onto this bespoke platform, developed in partnership with Bournemouth-based tech company 3SidedCube. Imagine was featured in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 lists in 2013 and 2014; recognising the company's strong financial results, including a high net margin. In 2015 the company moved into a new market, with Real Crime magazine. To celebrate its tenth year in publishing, free engraved iPad Mini were offered to all staff. Imagine's final two magazine launches were in 2016, with History of Royals in April and Explore History in May. At the point when it was acquired by

, Imagine Publishing was a worldwide

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

content producer and in October 2016 it had a portfolio of 20 regular print magazines, 25 websites, 30 mobile apps and a portfolio of over 1,200 bookazines - all published worldwide within the four key markets – technology, photography, knowledge/science and videogames.

Key titles

Key magazine titles published by Imagine Publishing included: * '' Play'' * '' GamesTM'' * '' Retro Gamer'' * ''

'' (Sold to Kelsey Media in 2017) * ''Digital Photographer'' * ''iCreate'' * ''Web Designer'' * ''Photoshop Creative'' * '' Total 911'' * '' Linux User and Developer'' * ''3D Artist'' * ''How It Works'' * '' All About Space'' * ''All About History'' * ''World of Animals'' * ''History of War'' * ''NowGamer.com'' * ''Gadget'' * ''Real Crime'' * ''History of Royals'' * ''boot'' (ISSN 1088-5439) * Practical Digital Video * Windows XP Made Easy * Digital Camera Buyer * PC Home All of Imagine's publications are now owned by Future Publishing.

References

External links

Imagine Publishing official website
{{Authority control 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom 2016 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Computer magazine publishing companies Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 2005 Publishing companies disestablished in 2016 Companies based in Bournemouth