Amiga Format is by far the most popular Amiga magazine in the world. While its rivals disappeared Amiga Format slowly plodded along, covering the latest developments while providing a link to the glory days of the Amiga. It is one of the few magazines that can honestly say it has stuck by the Amiga through thick and thin.

The magazine first appeared during July 1988 under the banner ST/Amiga Format. At the time the 16-bit market and Future Publishing itself was still in its infancy, making a single-platform magazine risky. Magazines appeared and disappeared almost overnight, so the decision was taken to cover the two most popular 16-bit formats.

In August 1989 the magazine split to better cover the individual markets, becoming Amiga Format and ST Format. Two events preceded this action- the 16-bit market had come into its own, indicating the 8-bit era was over. In addition, the sale of the multi-platform magazine, ACE to Emap gave Future Publishing the staff required to operate two magazines. At the time ST Format was considered to be the most viable of the two. This was soon to change when Amiga Format made a number of influential deals with Commodore to have the magazine bundled with every Amiga sold in the UK. Magazine sales quickly rose to a peak of 161,256 and AF becomes the best-selling "male interest" magazine during the second half of 1992, riding the wave of the Amigas golden era. During this period it also spawned spin-off titles, Amiga Power, Amiga Shopper, and a series of Amiga Format Specials dedicated to specific interests.

It soon became clear during the dark days of 1994 that the Amiga golden era was over. Announcing massive losses, Commodore finally entered liquidation sparking uncertainty in the Amiga market. Amiga Format cocooned itself, refusing to admit that the PC was becoming the platform of choice for the home market. Faced with growing uncertainty the magazine grew stagnant allowing CU Amiga Magazine to become the worlds' biggest selling magazine- a title that had been previously held by Amiga Format for over 5 years. For a time it even seemed that Amiga Format would leave CU as the sole UK Amiga magazine. However, the promotion of Ben Vost to editor signalled a change of direction to cover more technical issues. The final Amiga Format was a leaner beast, aimed more at the home hobbyist than the die-hard gamer. In contrast to the magazines glory days, the magazine sold just 11,146 copies a month (ABC July-December 1999).

As the sole UK magazine Amiga Format became vitally important in keeping the Amiga in the public eye, and the only way for Amiga users who do not have internet access to read the latest news. Its continued publication during the 1998 - 1999 period should not be undervalued for keeping the Amiga market alive in these difficult times.