🔗 Share this article

It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.

The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller

Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”