RedOctane lives. Following the 2006 Activision buyout and the 2010 shutdown, the Guitar Hero publisher has returned to the world under the name RedOctane Games, and they intend to build exactly what you expect them to.
…okay, maybe not that one. They’re probably not making a new Guitar Hero title, but rhythm games are on the menu. In fact, they’re the whole menu! With a fiery trailer, RedOctane has announced its intentions to give rhythm games a “comeback.”
“Let’s just make a game, it’ll be awesome.” Says the trailer, not saying what that game will be.
In fact, we’ve been given very little so far as to what exactly RedOctane is cooking up. Though, the ever-reliable “spiritual successor to that one game you really liked” seems like their aim. And that’s far from impossible: the studio has a ton of talent from those who’ve worked on the Guitar Hero games of yesteryear.
Our core development team is all ex-RedOctane folks.
“Founded by veterans, developers, and passionate players from across the rhythm gaming scene,” the official RedOctane website reads, “our mission is simple: to bring rhythm gaming back with more power, more precision, and a deeper connection than ever before.”
They say that their next game is “in the works” – it’ll be a rhythm game, but other than that they’re staying tight-lipped.
They’re not at all shy about their team, though. Simon Ebejer is at the helm, and he helped bring Guitar Hero 3 and World Tour to life. RedOctane’s original founders, Charles and Kai Huang, will also be taking on an advisory role at the studio.
“Rhythm games are about more than just gameplay; they’re about feel, flow, and connection to the music and to each other,” Ebejer said (thanks, GameSpot). “RedOctane Games is our way of giving back to a genre that means so much to us, while pushing it forward in new and exciting directions.”
You can expect more announcements in the months to come, with a better look at what they have in store.
RedOctane Revival Fans Don’t Just Want Games
Reactions to this news have been as passionate as you’d expect. A quick scroll down the trailer’s comments reveals all the usual suspects: a “WE’RE SO BACK” here, a “WWWWWW” there.
And among them, one person says “Please don’t leave us drummers behind!”
Excitement for this revival isn’t just about videogames – there’s ample demand for new devices to play those games with.
“At some point we will need new peripherals, I feel.” One commenter wrote on a Reddit thread discussing the news. “Things are already starting to get old and people ARE really getting into these games again.”
It’s one thing to be a hero of guitars, but the music scene goes so far beyond that. And in a world where people are beating games with steering wheels, there’s really nothing too obscure for people to get intrigued by.
Given the “games” part of the studio’s new name, though, we’re unlikely to see anything but software for the next while. Let ’em get that out of their system, then we can talk peripheries.
