What Bitmap Books does

Bitmap Books is a privately held, design-led book publisher founded in 2014 and headquartered in Bath, United Kingdom, that produces high-quality physical books documenting retro and classic video game history, franchises, genres, and hardware. Its catalog spans multiple organized collections — By Game, By Genre (RPG, FPS), By System (SNES, Commodore), Video Game Art (SNK, box art), Video Game History, and a Non-Gaming line — and includes premium Collector's / Captain's Editions priced materially above standard editions. Production values (innovative printing, eco-friendly packaging) and meticulous research by gaming-expert writers are stated as core differentiators, and each title ships with a complimentary PDF.

The company's underlying technology stack is purely commercial rather than proprietary: the storefront and checkout run on Shopify, with payment processing handled through Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. There is no disclosed proprietary software, platform, or data product, and no mobile app.

The business model is direct-to-consumer e-commerce: one-time-purchase physical book sales through its own website, supplemented by a stockist network and an affiliate program. Pricing is unit-based at roughly $19.99 entry-level up to $75 for collector editions, with free UK mainland shipping and worldwide tracked shipping to 70+ countries at multi-currency pricing. The primary customer segment is retro gaming collectors and enthusiasts seeking premium physical merchandise; the customer base is global and individual-consumer-oriented, with no disclosed enterprise or institutional accounts. Marketing is content-led (blog, developer histories, newsletter) and reinforced by 12,000+ five-star reviews on the owned site.

Name

Bitmap Books

Legal name

Bitmap Books

Website

https://bitmapbooks.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bitmap Books is a UK-based independent publisher that designs and sells premium physical books documenting retro video game history, franchises, and hardware, sold direct-to-consumer worldwide via Shopify with collector editions at premium price points.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Humor, Gift & Specialty Format Books (Journals, Coloring, etc.) (MPAJAAAN)

Keywords

• Retro gaming books
• Specialty book publishing
• Collector's edition books
• Video game history publishing
• Design-led publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: One-time purchase revenue from selling high-quality retro video game books and collections directly to consumers through their e-commerce website. Customers purchase physical books at various price points ($19.99 to $75.00+), with some books offered in standard and collector's editions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bitmap Books is an independent, design-led publisher that creates and sells high-quality, print-driven physical books documenting retro and classic video game history, individual franchises, genres, gaming systems, and game artwork. The publisher offers both standard editions and premium collector's editions, with each title shipped with a complimentary PDF and supported by worldwide tracked shipping through its own Shopify-powered online store and selected stockists.

Product overview

Bitmap Books is a design-led publisher specializing in high-quality retro video game books and collections. The product portfolio is a unified catalog of physical books organized across multiple collections: By Game (individual game histories), By Genre (RPG, FPS), By System (SNES, Commodore), Video Game Art (box art, SNK), Video Game History, and Non-Gaming. Premium offerings include Collector's Editions with enhanced materials and exclusive content. Each book is produced with innovative printing techniques and ships with a free PDF copy. The company operates primarily through its Shopify e-commerce platform offering worldwide tracked shipping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leaps + Bounds: a Visual Guide to Nine Console Generations A comprehensive visual guide covering nine generations of video game consoles, produced for retro gaming enthusiasts and console-history collectors.
• Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers A visual celebration documenting the history and design of video game controllers, aimed at gaming hardware enthusiasts and collectors.
• Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History Comprehensive history book covering the Fatal Fury and Garou Densetsu fighting game series, aimed at fighting game fans and retro collectors.
• Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History (Collector's Edition) Limited collector's edition of the Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu history book with enhanced binding, additional content, and exclusive covers for premium collectors.
• 50 Indie Games that Changed the World A book documenting 50 independent video games that significantly impacted the gaming industry, aimed at indie game enthusiasts and historians.
• The Games of a Lifetime A comprehensive book covering memorable games across gaming history, targeted at readers interested in canonical titles and gaming culture.
• Hurt Me Plenty: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters 2003–2010 Comprehensive guide documenting first-person shooter games released between 2003 and 2010, aimed at FPS enthusiasts and genre historians.
• The GBA Pixel Book A book dedicated to Game Boy Advance games and pixel art, aimed at handheld gaming fans and pixel-art collectors.
• A Tale of Two Halves: The History Of Football Video Games Standard edition documenting the history of football video games, aimed at sports gaming and football culture enthusiasts.
• A Tale of Two Halves: The History Of Football Video Games (Captain's Edition) Limited captain's edition covering the history of football video games, with premium materials and exclusive content for sports gaming collectors.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards redeemable on the Bitmap Books website, intended as gifts for retro gaming book enthusiasts.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Read-Only Memory: An independent UK-based publisher specializing in books about video game history and culture. Direct competitor to Bitmap Books in the retro-gaming coffee-table book niche, with similar premium production values and D2C sales model.
• Pix'n Love Editions: French publisher focused on retro video game books and collector editions. Highly comparable product offering (premium retrospective books on classic gaming franchises) with similar collector-edition strategy.
• Third Editions: French publisher of deep-dive video game history and design books (e.g., The Legend of Final Fantasy VII, BioShock). Overlaps directly with Bitmap Books in producing premium retrospective titles on classic games.
• Boss Fight Books: US-based publisher of long-form essays about individual video games. Compares to Bitmap Books in producing curated, themed books around retro/classic games, though format skews essay-driven rather than visual compendium.

Emerging players

• Lost in Cult: UK-based gaming media and merch brand producing limited-edition gaming publications and zines. Comparable in targeting the same retro-gaming collector audience with curated print artifacts.

Broad incumbents

• Taschen: Global art and specialty book publisher known for premium visual compendiums across design, film, and pop culture. Relevant incumbent comp showing how far a specialty-format coffee-table book publisher can scale with international distribution.
• Gingko Press: Independent publisher of high-quality art, design, and pop-culture books. Comparable in production values, premium positioning, and niche specialty-format catalog strategy.
• Thames & Hudson: UK-founded international publisher of illustrated books on art, architecture, and visual culture. Provides a comp for premium illustrated/pictorial book publishing at scale across global retail and trade channels.
• Phaidon Press: Global illustrated book publisher covering art, design, food, and culture, including visual retrospectives. Comparable in producing premium visual compendiums and in using international distribution plus D2C channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bitmap_books
• Facebookfacebook.com/bitmapbooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bitmap-books-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bitmap Books