Private company

Idigicon Limited

Video game publisher

CDS Software (also known as CDS Micro Systems for its earlier titles) was an independent publisher and developer of computer game software based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK.² Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1980Founded¹

Industryvideo game industry¹
Founded inDoncaster¹
Websitewww.idigicon.com
Legal formprivate company limited by shares, public company¹

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

CDS Software (also known as CDS Micro Systems for its earlier titles) was an independent publisher and developer of computer game software based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK.²

Corporate structure

Idigicon Limited sits at the top of its group. 1 entity, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Idigicon Limited
- Blue Ribbon Owned · United Kingdom

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Idigicon Limited reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

Blue Ribbon

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.¹

The story

The company was founded by Ian Williams, a computer programmer from Doncaster who started developing games for the Sinclair ZX80 shortly after its launch. After the initial company success he employed Giles Hunter (a manager from Doncaster W.H Smiths) to help expand the business. He sold his company to Giles Hunter to pursue other interests in 1985.

In 1985, the company launched the Blue Ribbon budget label.

In 1988 CDS Software, under the CDS group of companies changed its name to Nimrod Holdings Ltd, also publishing games for the Amiga. Publishing continued under the CDS Software Label until the early 1990s.

Guildhall Leisure Services

The company operated as RHSCO One Limited between January and March 1994, and then as Guildhall Leisure Services between March 1994 and May 2002. As Guildhall, the company published games for the Amiga including the well-regarded title Gloom.

iDigicon

Subsequently, the company operated as iDigicon Limited until its dissolution in May 2013.

From Wikipedia’s article on CDS Software, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Products and brands

The first games released in 1982-3 were for the 16k ZX Spectrum consisting mainly of clones of arcade games. The company expanded to different formats with titles like Steve Davis Snooker and Colossus Chess seeing releases on most platforms of the day.

The launch of the budget label Blue Ribbon saw simple arcade type games diverted to that label with CDS concentrating on full price titles, often incorporating tie-in licences such as Brian Clough's Football Fortunes and Sporting Triangles. They also released the computer game crossed with a board game, TankAttack. The Complete Home Entertainment Centre was a compendium of games that were later split and sold as stand alone titles by Blue Ribbon (such as Video Card Arcade and Dominoes).

In the early 90s, CDS re-issued or picked up UK distribution of games for companies such as D&H Games (e.g. Multi-Player Soccer Manager), MicroIllusions (e.g. Fire Power) and Artworx (e.g. the Strip Poker games).

8-bit games published

Gobble a Ghost (1982)

Read the full text

3D Painter (1983)

Bozy Boa (1983)

Caterpillar (1983)

Leapfrog (1983)

Magic Meanies (1983)

French is Fun (1983)

Othello (1983)

Pool (1983)

Reversi (1983)

Winged Warlords (1983)

German is Fun (1984)

Italian is Fun (1984)

Steve Davis Snooker (1984)

Timebomb (1984)

Spanish is Fun (1985)

Colossus Chess 4 (1986)

Colossus Bridge 4 (1986)

Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (1987)

Tank Attack (1988)

Video Card Arcade (1988)

Sporting Triangles (1989)

European Superleague (1990)

16-bit games published

As CDS:

Bravo Romeo Delta (1992), Frankenstein

Rugby Coach (1992), D&H Games

Colossus Bridge X (1992)

As Guildhall:

Xtreme Racing (1995), Silltunna

Fears (1995), Bomb

Gloom (1995), Black Magic Software

Legends (1996), Krisalis

Minskies Furballs (1997), Binary Emotions

Re-release games

Spectrum Safari (1984)

Fire Power (1988)

Centerfold Squares (1988)

Blitzkrieg at the Ardennes (1989)

Dr. Plummet's House of Flux (1989)

Multi-Player Soccer Manager (1991)

Idigicon Games

Platypus (2002)

Binman (2002)

Mah Jong (2003)

Mumble Jumble (2003)

Beep the Bunny Sheep (2004)

Battle Batz (2005)

Farmerama (2005)

Maxx Trucks (2006)

NUX (2006)

Mah Jong Deluxe (2006)

Polar Kubes (2006)

Hamsters (2006)

Platypus II (2007)