Read-Only Memory's books are archival anthologies, including original design documents juxtaposed with developer interviews and high-quality prints of in-game graphics.
The 30th anniversary of the ZX Spectrum home computer in 2012 generated renewed interest in Britsoft—a "golden era" of British video game development, particularly in the 1980s and '90s, little publicised outside Britain.
[4] Through its Kickstarter projects, Read-Only Memory grew as a British publisher of art books on topics of video game history and culture.
[5] In late 2013,[3] graphic designer Darren Wall released an art book about the history of British developer Sensible Software.
[3] Other commentators featured in the book include developer and entrepreneur David Darling, television personality Dominik Diamond, musician Martin Galway, and games journalist Gary Whitta.
It was officially licensed by Sega and contains about 30 interviews with former team members and documentary production artwork from both classic and lesser-known games.
[19][11] Upon doubling the project's funding goal, Wall and Read-Only Memory announced additional interviews and content to be included.
[16] Read-Only Memory editor-in-chief Darren Wall told The Guardian how crowdfunders shared their experiences and opinions of the book on Twitter, which generated significant traffic to the publisher's website.
[20] Read-Only Memory published Britsoft: An Oral History in 2015 and The Bitmap Brothers: Universe in 2016, both about a golden age of British game development.
[1] The second book was published on the subject of The Bitmap Brothers, a prominent British developer known for games such as Speedball, Xenon, and The Chaos Engine.
Written by games journalist Duncan Harris, the 360-page book covers the developer's catalogue alongside concept art and interviews with its personnel.
[27] Patrons who crowdfunded the project on Kickstarter received rewards including signed copies of the book and art prints.
In late 2017, Read-Only Memory partnered with Polygon to publish the website's oral history of Final Fantasy VII with Kickstarter crowdfunding.