Guitar Hero rumoured for a return this year

A new Guitar Hero game is on the horizon if a new report is to be believed. Speaking to two separate sources, Kotaku has learned that the music rhythm franchise is set to return before the end of the year following a five-year hiatus.

According to one of their sources, the Activision-published game will be announced during this year’s E3 conference in June and will adopt a more realistic approach compared to the cartoonish style of previous Guitar Hero games with more life-like crowds and performers touted as an example. The game is believed to be in development for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with new guitar peripherals also in the works. While a developer hasn’t been confirmed, the studio working on the game is believed to be located on the West Coast.

Since its inception ten years ago, Guitar Hero became one of the most popular music franchises within gaming, leading to multiple titles within the series and spin-offs such as Band Hero and DJ Hero. The last game in the series, Warriors of Rock, was released in September 2010 and developed by Neversoft, a company which merged with Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward last year.

As expected, Activision declined to comment on this rumour except to say that the Guitar Hero series is one of the “most beloved entertainment franchises” and would only be brought back if they were able to develop the “right innovations to usher the franchise into the new generation of gaming.”