Company Timeline

Origin: Mail-Order Era

Andrew Hewson purchased a Sinclair ZX80 in 1980 and immediately began writing software for it. Recognising commercial potential in the nascent home computer market, he founded Hewson Consultants as a mail-order software business, selling ZX80 and ZX81 programs through magazine advertisements. This was a common route to market in the early 1980s British home computer scene — a time before dedicated game shops, before retail distribution networks had adapted to software, when cassette tapes arrived by post and the bedroom programmer was king.

The company's early catalogue consisted primarily of utility and education software for the ZX80, ZX81, and the newly released ZX Spectrum. Andrew Hewson documented much of this era in his book Hints and Tips for ZX Spectrum, establishing his credentials as both a publisher and a technical author. Rob Hewson, Andrew's son, joined the business as it grew.

Moving to Retail

As the home computer market matured and retail distribution networks developed to serve it, Hewson Consultants made the transition from mail-order to retail. This was the era of WH Smith racks, Boots computer sections, and independent game shops proliferating on British high streets. Software could now reach a mass audience without relying on magazine advertisements and postal orders.

Early retail titles appeared on ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. The company developed relationships with external developers — a model that would prove central to their subsequent success. Where many publishers of the era maintained large in-house teams, Hewson Consultants operated more as a focused boutique: identifying talent, providing commercial infrastructure, and ensuring quality output.

Graftgold: Braybrook and Turner

The defining partnership of Hewson's commercial peak was with Graftgold, the studio founded by Andrew Braybrook and Steve Turner. Graftgold operated from Stroud, Gloucestershire, producing technically exceptional software — and Hewson Consultants published it.

The results were extraordinary. Paradroid (1985, C64) established Braybrook as one of Britain's finest programmers. Gribbly's Day Out (1985, C64) demonstrated his range. Uridium (1986, C64) became a phenomenon — a horizontal shoot 'em up of such technical accomplishment that it won the Golden Joystick Award for Best Arcade-Style Game in 1986. Turner's contributions — Quazatron (1986, ZX Spectrum), Ranarama (1987) — expanded Hewson's presence on the Sinclair platform.

Uridium+ (1987) followed as an enhanced version of the original, cementing Braybrook's reputation. Alleykat (1986) and Zynaps (1987) completed the Graftgold-Hewson golden period. The relationship was central to Hewson's commercial success in the mid-1980s.

In-House Engineering: Raf Cecco

Raf Cecco joined Hewson as an in-house developer and became arguably the company's most technically accomplished programmer. His work defines the late Hewson period: precise, demanding, mechanically sophisticated.

Exolon (1987) introduced him to the Hewson audience — a run-and-gun of considerable precision. Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine (1988) followed, scored by Jeroen Tel's celebrated C64 SID and earning 96% from CRASH magazine. Cybernoid II: The Revenge (1988) raised the bar further. Tel's score for Cybernoid II is among the most celebrated in C64 history, later performed live by the Commodore 64 orchestra.

Stormlord (1989) pushed Cecco's ambitions to the platform genre. His development methods and working relationship with Hewson are documented in a developer diary published in CRASH magazine issue 53 — a primary source for understanding both Cecco and the Hewson approach to development.

Rack-It: Broadening the Audience

Hewson Consultants launched the Rack-It budget label to re-release older titles at reduced prices, making flagship titles accessible to a wider audience. Budget labels were a significant commercial channel in the late 1980s British software market — WH Smith racks, Boots shelves, and petrol station spinner racks carried budget titles to consumers who might not have purchased them at full price.

Rack-It re-releases included many of the flagship Hewson titles: Uridium, Paradroid, Cybernoid, Exolon, Nebulus, and others, across C64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC. The label extended the commercial life of the Hewson catalogue significantly.

16-Bit Platforms

The Amiga and Atari ST demanded different approaches — higher production values, larger assets, MOD music rather than SID synthesis. Hewson adapted: Cybernoid, Exolon, Nebulus, and Stormlord all received 16-bit conversions. Onslaught (1990) and Deliverance: Stormlord II (1990) extended the catalogue into the 16-bit era. 5th Gear (1990) showed the company's range extended to racing. John Phillips's Nebulus (1987) proved particularly notable in its Amiga version, demonstrating the engine's scalability across architectures.

The late catalogue — Zarathrusta (1990), Netherworld (1988) — showed a company still committed to technical quality but operating in an increasingly competitive market as publishers with larger budgets moved in.

1991: The Wind-up

Hewson Consultants wound up operations in 1991. The home computer market had changed dramatically — the C64's dominance was waning, the Amiga faced new competition, and the economics of software publishing were shifting. Andrew and Rob Hewson moved on to 21st Century Entertainment, which published the celebrated Pinball Fantasies series among other titles.

The Hewson catalogue passed into history — but not into irrelevance. The titles have been preserved by the Internet Archive, celebrated by the SID and Amiga MOD communities, and ranked highly in retrospective assessments of British gaming. In 2018, the Hewson name was revived for Hyper Sentinel, a spiritual successor to Uridium published for PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.