Future in ABC blackout

Future Publishing will decline to release six-monthly ABC figures for any of its games portfolio tomorrow, MCV can reveal.

The publisher has traditionally released the data – which shows its magazine sales numbers from January 1st to June 31st – every August.

However, this year the publisher has opted to keep the information private. A full audit for the calendar year is still expected from Future in February 2010.

Future owns games titles such as Edge, Official Xbox Magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine and Official PlayStation Magazine.

The monthly consumer magazine climate has become notoriously tough as the recession bites.

In February, Future posted annual ABC increases for five of its eleven gaming magazines, with PlayStation titles OPM and PSW posting the biggest gains.

However, circulation figures for Future’s PC and multiformat game mags slipped.

GamesMaster dropped from 51,389 readers to 40,940, while Edge dropped from 31,304 readers to 28,898. PC Gamer and PC Zone also saw their ABC results slide.

The firm’s games portfolio also suffered a ‘challenging’ fourth quarter in the three months to December 31st 2008, with total revenue up just one per cent to 41 million.