Report: New Guitar Hero In Development For PS4, Xbox One

You see, this was exactly the kind of announcement I feared when it was clear that a Rock Band game was in development; Activision is jumping back into the market, too. We’re not sure if the plan is to release a game, on average, every 3 months once again, but according to two separate sources speaking to Kotaku UK a new Guitar Hero game is reportedly in development for the PS4 and Xbox One.

One of the sources claimed the game would be announced at E3 this year, while the next-gen Guitar Hero launch itself is supposed to arrive launch later this year.

This new title is said to be taking “a more realistic approach” to musical gameplay, as opposed to the cartoonish nature both Guitar Hero and Rock Band have utilized to date. Furthermore, it is unknown which studio will take over development of such a game, as former dev studio NeverSoft has since molded into Infinity Ward, as well as fellow Guitar Hero studio RedOctane has closed.

Competition within the marketplace is good, so it’s not entirely bad news to hear that a new Guitar Hero is in development. It’s the fact that Activision is holding the reigns, after releasing so many titles in the mid-late 2000’s in an effort to maximize profits at the expense of alienating the genre from its fans.

In commenting on the Kotaku story, after denying a comment on the rumor, Activision representative said, “We would only bring Guitar Hero back if we developed the right innovations to usher the franchise into the new generation of gaming.” If a new Guitar Hero game is truly to be released by bringing something new to the table (instead of following in Rock Band’s footsteps), then there is cause to celebrate.

A Harmonix spokesperson, when reached for comment:

"👻," said a Harmonix spokesperson.
— Nick Chester (@nickchester) February 24, 2015

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