First Harmonix brings back Rock Band and now Activision is bringing back Guitar Hero. Activision announced that Guitar Hero Live will be available this fall.
The new game was developed by FreeStyleGames, which also produced the DJ Hero games, and features two brand new playing modes, Activision said.
The first is GH Live, which gives the player a first-person perspective while playing on stage. Your audience will even react based on how well or poorly you are playing on stage as the lead guitarist. Your music will come from a wide variety of genres and you will have to play in venues from clubs to stadiums.
Next is GHTV, which Activision bills as the “world’s first playable music video network.” It has a 24-hour mode that is constantly updated with new music and players can play along to new music as it pops up on the network. It will also feature on-demand songs and a multi-player mode.
“Guitar Hero is a franchise that so many people love. Figuring out how to bring it back with true breakthrough innovation has been years in the making, and a labor of love," Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc., said in a statement. "Guitar Hero Live lets people rock real crowds with real reactions. Our goal was literally to give people stage fright. And with GHTV, we have created the world's first playable music video network. All of it is playable on consoles, or mobile devices. Guitar Hero is back and better than ever.”
Guitar Hero Live will also feature a completely different guitar controller from the previous games to help match how people naturally play games. It will help out players at any experience level.
While Activision didn’t post a full tracklist, it did say that songs from the following artists would be included: The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War on Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, The Lumineers, Carrie Underwood, Pierce the Veil and Blitz Kids.
This news comes just weeks after Harmonix announced plans to release Rock Band 4 later this year. Clearly, the gaming industry is banking on a new generation of gamers being interested in playing instruments virtually.
Guitar Hero Live will be available on all consoles.