Imagine Software
Corporate brand
UnclaimedImagine Software was a short-lived British video-game developer whose lavish marketing and ambitious projects made it one of the most visible—and ultimately notorious—software companies of the early 1980s.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Imagine Software was a British video-game developer based in Liverpool that operated for only a few years during the formative period of the United Kingdom's home-computer software industry. Founded in 1982 by former Bug-Byte employees Mark Butler and David Lawson, the company initially developed games for machines such as the ZX Spectrum and Commodore VIC-20. Its early releases included Arcadia and a succession of arcade-style and action titles aimed at the rapidly expanding market of inexpensive cassette software. The company distinguished itself through an unusually polished and expensive approach to presentation. Imagine invested heavily in packaging, advertising, public relations, company vehicles, and visible corporate promotion at a time when many British software publishers operated on a much smaller scale. Bruce Everiss, previously associated with the Liverpool computer retailer Microdigital, was brought in to manage the company’s day-to-day operations and public relations. The business expanded rapidly and reportedly employed more than 80 people, a substantial workforce for the period. This growth, however, was accompanied by high expenditure and products that were not always technically reliable; some releases were affected by serious bugs that impaired or prevented normal play. Imagine’s public profile increased further through its proposed “Megagames,” especially Psyclapse and Bandersnatch. These projects were marketed as technically advanced productions intended to stretch the capabilities of contemporary home computers. The plans reportedly included hardware add-ons intended both to enhance performance and to make copying more difficult. Their proposed retail price, around £30, was dramatically above the typical price of a computer game at the time. Neither project was completed by Imagine, and both became emblematic of the gap between the company’s promotional ambitions and its production and financial capacity. Financial problems became public toward the end of 1983, when unpaid advertising bills began to generate industry concern. During 1984, unpaid obligations to advertisers and duplication suppliers accumulated, and Imagine attempted to raise funds by selling game rights to Beau Jolly. The company’s collapse was recorded by a BBC documentary crew, giving the failure an unusually prominent place in British popular coverage of the early software business. On 28 June 1984, VNU Business Press obtained a writ over unpaid advertising costs, and Imagine was wound up by the High Court in London on 9 July 1984 after it could not raise the required £10,000 payment. Contemporary accounts described total debts as running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The collapse did not end the commercial life of the name. Beau Jolly held rights to much of the catalogue before those rights later passed to Subvert, while Ocean Software acquired the Imagine label. Ocean subsequently used Imagine primarily as a publishing imprint for home-computer conversions of popular arcade games, continuing the name into the late 1980s. Imagine’s former programmers and staff also influenced the British games industry through later ventures, including Psygnosis and Denton Designs. The company’s unrealized projects and spectacular failure have remained part of the historical mythology of the early British games market, and the 2018 interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch included references that evoke Imagine’s collapse and the abandoned Bandersnatch concept.
History
Imagine Software emerged in Liverpool in 1982, when the British home-computer market was expanding quickly around the ZX Spectrum, Commodore VIC-20, and comparable machines. Mark Butler and David Lawson, both formerly associated with Bug-Byte, established the company. Eugene Evans, who had previously worked with Butler at the Microdigital computer shop, was also involved in its early development. Bruce Everiss joined to oversee daily operations and public relations. The company released a stream of games during 1982 and 1983, including Arcadia, Wacky Waiters, Frantic, Catcha Snatcha, Schizoids, Ah Diddums, Molar Maul, Jumping Jack, Zip Zap, Zzoom, Bewitched, Stonkers, and Alchemist. Imagine’s public identity was unusually grand for a small software developer. It promoted its products with substantial advertising, elaborate packaging, corporate vehicles, and other displays of confidence. The business grew to more than 80 employees, but some games were released with major technical defects, and the cost of maintaining its expansion and promotional image placed pressure on its finances. Imagine also announced a series of ambitious “Megagames.” Psyclapse and Bandersnatch were intended to offer a scale and technical sophistication beyond ordinary cassette releases. The plans included optional or bundled hardware intended to increase computer capability and discourage piracy. Their proposed price—about £30—would have been several times the prevailing price of a typical game. The projects were advertised extensively but remained unfinished. During the company’s collapse, a BBC documentary showed that Psyclapse was far less developed than its publicity suggested. Concepts associated with Bandersnatch later influenced Brataccas, produced by former Imagine personnel at Psygnosis. Warnings about Imagine’s financial health circulated from December 1983 after reports of unpaid advertising bills estimated at approximately £50,000. In 1984, further advertising and tape-duplication obligations went unpaid. Imagine sold game rights to Beau Jolly in an attempt to obtain funds, but the measure did not prevent insolvency. The company’s failure attracted national attention, including coverage by a BBC documentary crew and an appearance by Mark Butler on Thames Television’s Daytime programme. A writ from VNU Business Press over advertising costs was issued on 28 June 1984. On 9 July, the High Court in London wound up Imagine after the company could not produce the required £10,000. Its total obligations were described as extending into the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Following the collapse, Beau Jolly controlled much of the software catalogue before later transferring those rights to Subvert. Ocean Software acquired the Imagine name and used it as an imprint into the late 1980s, mainly for computer versions of arcade properties. Imagine’s longer-term influence came partly through its former employees. Some went on to establish Psygnosis and Denton Designs, both significant names in later British game development. The unrealized Bandersnatch project also became a cultural reference point. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, released in 2018, begins on the date of Imagine’s closure and uses a fictional software company and an unfinished game to evoke the era’s commercial optimism, technological ambition, and financial risk.
- 2018
Bandersnatch is referenced in popular culture
[1]The interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch alludes to Imagine’s collapse and its abandoned project of the same name.
- 1984
Imagine Software is wound up
[1]The High Court winds up the company on 9 July after it cannot raise the required payment connected with an advertising debt.
- 1984
The Imagine name passes to Ocean Software
[1]Ocean acquires the label and later uses it for computer conversions of arcade games.
- 1983
Imagine reaches peak expansion
[1]The company grows to a workforce reported at more than 80 people and promotes an increasingly ambitious software strategy.
- 1983
Financial concerns become public
[1]Reports of substantial unpaid advertising bills begin circulating, foreshadowing the company’s later collapse.
- 1982
Imagine Software is founded
[1]Mark Butler and David Lawson establish the Liverpool-based developer after their earlier work at Bug-Byte.
- 1982
Arcadia is released
[1]Arcadia becomes one of the company’s early releases for the VIC-20 and ZX Spectrum.
Products and positioning
An ambitious, highly promotional early British games company that sought to make home-computer software appear more polished, prestigious, and technologically advanced than was typical for the period.
Action game · 1982
Arcadia
One of Imagine’s early and better-known releases, Arcadia was developed for the Commodore VIC-20 and ZX Spectrum during the company’s initial growth period. It represents the fast-produced arcade-oriented software that formed the foundation of Imagine’s catalogue before the company moved toward more ambitious, heavily promoted projects.
Strategy game · 1983
Stonkers
Stonkers was one of Imagine’s 1983 releases. It was a strategy-oriented title within a catalogue otherwise strongly associated with arcade-style action games. Like several Imagine products, it is part of the company’s brief period of high output before financial problems curtailed development and publishing activity.
Action game · 1983
Zzoom
Zzoom was released in 1983 for the company’s principal home-computer market. It belongs to the broad set of action titles through which Imagine built visibility in the British software retail channel during its rapid expansion.
Unreleased Megagame
Bandersnatch
Bandersnatch was planned as one of Imagine’s technically advanced Megagames. The proposed project was promoted as a premium release and was associated with hardware-enhancement and anti-piracy ideas. Imagine collapsed before it could be completed. Some of its concepts later appeared in Brataccas, created by former Imagine personnel.
Unreleased Megagame
Psyclapse
Psyclapse was another planned Megagame intended to exceed the technical and commercial scale of ordinary home-computer software. It remained unreleased when Imagine failed; the name was later reused as a sub-label associated with Psygnosis.
Brand decisions
1984
Sell game rights to raise emergency fundsStrategyBackground
Unpaid advertising and duplication bills had created severe liquidity problems, while the company’s operating and promotional expenses remained high.
Action taken
Imagine sold rights to games in its catalogue to Beau Jolly in an attempt to generate money and support the business.
Aftermath
The transaction did not prevent the company’s winding-up later in 1984. Beau Jolly subsequently held much of the catalogue before the rights later passed to Subvert.
1984
Ocean adopts the Imagine labelM&ABackground
Following Imagine’s collapse, the company’s name remained commercially useful because of its high public profile.
Action taken
Ocean Software acquired the Imagine label and used it as an imprint for home-computer conversions of popular arcade games.
Aftermath
The label continued into the late 1980s even though the original Liverpool developer no longer existed.
Recent events
Reported
Francisco Partners acquires and merges TradingScreen and Imagine Software[2]
Francisco Partners acquired TradingScreen and Imagine Software and merged them to form TS Imagine, a trading and portfolio management software platform.
Reported
TORA and Imagine Software announce trading-platform partnership[3]
TORA announced a partnership with Imagine Software to combine their offerings and create an integrated front-to-back trading solution for hedge funds and asset managers.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/imagine-software · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled