CD-Action is a Polish magazine devoted to video games.[1] It was founded in 1996 and published in Wrocław. The magazine was published in a cycle that was not exactly monthly, as subsequent issues of the magazine were published every 28 days. As a result, thirteen issues were released annually. In January 2022, the magazine switched to a quarterly publication cycle.[2] The typical volume of an issue is 124 pages (until March 2009 it was 148 pages). From December 2006 to July 2011, it was published only in a version with one double-layer DVD ( previously there were versions with four CDs for readers without DVD readers). From August 2011 to July 2018, two DVD9 discs were added in a cardboard packaging. In August 2018, the publishing house decided to stop adding a physical medium, replacing it with a scratch card with a code.
History
1996
April 1 – first issue of "CD-Action" (circulation: 12,500 copies)[3] published by Silver Shark[4]
July – first full version of the program
December – first full version of the game (Polish Blood Law)[5][6]
1997
autumn – Zbigniew Bański becomes the editor-in-chief of "CD-Action"[7][3]
August – DVD edition now released every two months
2004
January – the fourth CD is permanently added to the magazine
June – 100th issue – CD-Action 06/2004
September – monthly release of the DVD version in parallel with the CD version
2005
December – increase in DVD capacity (from 4.7 GB to 8.5 GB)
2006
September – the first full version of the game before the world premiere in the history of the magazine (Bad Day L.A.)
December – last issue of the magazine on CD
2007
August – change of editor-in-chief; Zbigniew Bański's place (who became the publishing director) was taken by his current deputy, Jerzy Prosta [11], and the function of deputy editor-in-chief was taken by Maciej Kuc, known to readers as Qn'ik, took over
2010
January – change of the appearance and content of the magazine, including: Gamewalker's elimination; adding reviews of console games and other minor changes
2012
February – 200th issue – CD-Action 02/2012 [12]
2013
January - changing the paper to a more slippery and more durable one, dictated by the start of printing the magazine in a private printing house of the Bauer publishing house.
2018
August – the first edition in which the DVD was replaced by a scratch card with a code.[9]
April – first issue of the magazine in electronic version. Electronic and traditional versions for the first time in history without digital additions (5/2020).[11]
At the end of April, the editorial office was given notice of termination, and at the same time the publisher announced that it was looking for an investor.[12]
July – the rights to the CD-Action brand were sold by Bauer Publishing House to the Fantasyexpo gaming agency. A change in the position of editor-in-chief was also announced, and Dawid Bojarski became the editor-in-chief.[13]
December - the first issue, in which the characteristic image of a Discobolus in the logo, present on the covers of the magazine from the beginning of its existence, was abandoned.[14]
2022
January - the editorial office announced the change to a quarterly publishing cycle.[2]
Substantive content
There are 124 pages of permanent sections (order as in the magazine):
Info – news from the world of games
In production – game announcements written based on materials provided by the developers and impressions from the beta versions of the games
GameWalker – editorial comments on the games reviewed in a given issue
Reviews – descriptions of reviewers' impressions of played computer games with a rating on a scale from 1 to 10
Kaszanka Zone – reviews of extremely poor games. The department was closed in January 2010, but was reopened after eight years.[15]
Journalism - a section devoted to general computer issues (Internet, programming, etc.), gaming-related topics, e.g. the history of computer games, companies producing games and computers, columns, thoughts, information about new technologies, etc.
Magazine – a review of news from the world of film, music and literature
Technologies – all new hardware, hardware tests, advice, etc.
Action Redaction – readers' lists to which Smuggler, Mr Jedi and 9kier respond, with occasional contributions from other editors
Szpile – mockingly about the gaming industry
Loot – descriptions of full versions of games included in the magazine
In the past, there were several departments that have been abolished:
Subject of the issue - usually contained one, extensive text on a topic related to currently important events in the gaming industry. From issue 2/2010 it is no longer distinguished in the table of contents as a separate section.
Controversial games - another subdivision of the journalistic section. It featured games that were considered controversial in the industry.
