Rhythm game lovers fret not, there is indeed a Rock Band 4 coming to store shelves later this year.
In a lengthy profile from Polygon, video game developer Harmonix finally confirms that a Rock Band 4 video game is definitely in the works for the Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation. Rumors of a new edition in the Rock Band franchise dogged the studio for months. Rock Band was the premiere title in the fledgling rhythm game franchise. Millions of users all purchased plastic guitars, drum kits and microphones so that they could simulate the life of a real performing celebrity.
Rock Band 4 will shed some of the extra baggage the latter games in the series focused on. Mainly, there’ll be less of a push to get users playing real instruments. Instead, Harmonix says Rock Band 4 will focus on delivering a party atmosphere, achieving the highest accuracy scores and a career mode. Xbox 360 owners who purchased songs and downloadable content for past games in the series will be able to transfer may of those songs over to the Xbox One. The same goes for users of the PS3 and the PS4. Right now, Harmonix is expecting 95 percent of content purchases to transfer over due to licensing deals.
A new generation of Rock Band controllers will arrive with Rock Band 4. A complete collection with the game, guitar controller, drums and microphone is planned. There’s also another version coming with just the guitar controller and the game. Users who already have controllers should be able to reuse though, but it’s a bit murky since the Xbox One and Xbox 360 approach wireless accessories differently.