• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 1, 2016

The future is now, and it’s kind of blocky and weird-looking. Gaming, tech, and general geekery media juggernaut Future Publishing has announced that it is launching a new magazine devoted entirely to Minecraft, the creative 3D video game that allows users to build their own worlds out of virtual blocks and interact with each other within those worlds.

The new title, Minecraft Mayhem, targets kids ages 6-12, who arguably form the game’s most devoted cohort of players, although plenty of adults have become addicted too. Per Future, the mag will deliver “tips and tricks for creating amazing buildings in the game.” It will also feature popular players from YouTube who have gained followings for their play-through videos and how-to guides, as well as special content and gifts. The first issue includes a double-sided poster, Lego Marvel pop-out characters, and a guide to Minecraft YouTube stars.

Minecraft Mayhem is edited by Daniella Lucas, formerly of Future’s Gamesradar.com Web site. Only available in the UK at launch, it debuts with a cover price of £3.99, and a once every three weeks publishing schedule.

Future also announced the launch of two other magazines for younger readers, Your Gaming Heroes and Your Comic Heroes, also with cover prices of £3.99 and the same tri-weekly publishing schedule.

The launch of the new titles comes not long after Future announced that it is acquiring Imagine Publishing, which publishes 19 magazines including 3D Artist, Retro Gamer, Digital Photographer, and Gadget, among others. Imagine has also put out over 800 bookazines devoted to the same range of topics.

Future paid around $21 million for Imagine. Some industry watchers speculate the Future may shut down some of Imagine’s magazines, which compete directly with Future titles. Future CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne did reveal that the publisher plans to scale up its bookazine business with the acquisition.