The latest round of video game studio acquisition comes from Epic Games which is acquiring Harmonix, the developers of titles like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Central. The developers made the announcement today via a blog post, mentioning that they will "work with Epic to create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite". However, specifics of such collaboration haven't been shared at this time.

" Now, we’ll be working with Epic to once again challenge expectations as we bring our unique brand of musical gaming experiences to the Metaverse, and we couldn’t be more excited," reads the post.

Harmonix also stated that their joining of the Epic Games family will not affect their current Rock Band DLC plans nor the way they support any their older games. The developers also created a brief FAQ in the post to answer pertinent questions.

SOURCE

 

[ZeroFX]

Rip, never got into those games on ps2, etc because not what i like to play but yeah, that's a rip.

 

[tech3475]

Into the Fortnite mines you go.

 

[gnmmarechal]

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The latest round of video game studio acquisition comes from Epic Games which is acquiring Harmonix, the developers of titles like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Central. The developers made the announcement today via a blog post, mentioning that they will "work with Epic to create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite". However, specifics of such collaboration haven't been shared at this time.

" Now, we’ll be working with Epic to once again challenge expectations as we bring our unique brand of musical gaming experiences to the Metaverse, and we couldn’t be more excited," reads the post.

Harmonix also stated that their joining of the Epic Games family will not affect their current Rock Band DLC plans nor the way they support any their older games. The developers also created a brief FAQ in the post to answer pertinent questions.

SOURCE

Oh god

 

[Flame]

oh no! anyway...

 

[ut2k4master]

what a downgrade for them, shame

 

[jt_1258]

well that's just wonderful... '_>'

 

[wurstpistole]

Well, tbh - the greatest time was PS3/X360 - with all those Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles... the little effort they made on PS4/XBO was just sad, they basically killed themselves with no backwards compatibility / new guitar with different layout and that was it. I loved those games - 15 years ago - and can still enjoy them by using Clone Hero.

 

[Kamineko]

Into the Fortnite mines you go.

This is what saddens me the most.

 

[szezjo]

Well, tbh - the greatest time was PS3/X360 - with all those Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles... the little effort they made on PS4/XBO was just sad, they basically killed themselves with no backwards compatibility / new guitar with different layout and that was it. I loved those games - 15 years ago - and can still enjoy them by using Clone Hero.

But what you're talking about was Guitar Hero Live from Activision (Harmonix wasn't making Guitar Heros from the third one). Rock Band 4 on the other hand had legacy support (DLCs were supported and you could acquire songs from the previous games through "exports" like in RB3) and supported older guitars through adapters (to use X360 guitar on Xbox One) or you could just connect the PS3 dongle (on PS4).

The only bad thing was that new accessories released with RB4 wasn't that great quality and RB4 accessories in general are kinda expensive right now, so the best bet for newcomers is PS3 stuff on PS4 that doesn't require any additional accessories.

I really would love with Harmonix having a publisher now and all to see new accessories, so any newcomers who were late to the party a few years ago could buy it without problems and even maybe, to see Rock Band 4 released on PC (even if it would be only on Epic Store, I don't really care) - but that's not the dreamworld we live in, so that's probably RIP.

 

[Xzi]

I'd care if Harmonix were still in their prime, but they haven't released anything noteworthy in ages. They certainly won't be releasing anything noteworthy from here on out under Epic's piss-poor management, either.

 

[ZeroT21]

Bye bye, it has been a fun ride with those guitar hero and rockband games

 

[TheGodMauro]

TIL that there's a Rock Band 4 and that they are still making DLC to this day, that's dedication to the art. It must be profitable if they kept pumping out songs, so at the very least I expect them to leave DLC production as is for a while, but more likely than not, I'd imagine they'll end up producing more of the multimedia content used in Fortnite. Not like it really affects me, I moved on to Rocksmith like 9 years ago.

 

[DudderButter]

Guitar Hero/Rock Band died pretty much with their titles on the PS4/XBONE. I'm talking mostly GH because Activision killed off their online play for Live after 4 years the game was launched, lmao. The greatest titles were on the PS2, PS3 and X360, IMO. Been using Clone Hero for a while now. If they put in Guitar Hero characters like The God of Rock or even singers like Ozzy Osbourne in Fortnite, I know then that they purchased Harmonix for the sweet, new cash-grab skins. Oh, and don't forget about the new weapons they'll bring in! The guitars, drum sets, microphone, etc.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder how that will affect the Rock Band series, especially in regards to hacks. Everyone is afraid that this will make Rock Band into Fortnite, but I disagree.

Actually, this might be the break we're looking for. Considering that Epic Games is one of the key members of the Coalition for App Fairness, and is one of the many companies fighting against big tech companies like Google and Apple, we might see Rock Band being ported more freely to platforms where it barely made ground, such as Android, iOS, Windows., and perhaps even Nintendo Switch! Sure, the CEO has wild ideas (like a one-world-type app store to replace the need for multiple app stores... no joke), but for the Rock Band series... well, who knows? Time will tell if Harmonix's new owners can help with better development.

 

[fvig2001]

Well Harmonix sucked since Dance Central Spotlight imo. They got lazy and just took the easy way for the game. Then on the VR game, it was just multiple terrible decisions. So let's see if Epic will save it or expectedly sink it even more.

 

[stanleyopar2000]

Downgraded to the Fortnite mines.

A fate worse than death

 

[The Catboy]

I am pretty sure this is called “grave robbing”

 

[Kraken_X]

Amplitude (PS4) is the best rhythm game ever made. It takes the formula of the previous Frequency/Amplitude games and improves both the gameplay and visuals to perfection along with having a killer soundtrack. Unfortunately, the reviewers didn't appreciate what it was and Harmonix didn't market it well, so probably few of you have tried it. Sony owns the rights to Amplitude, so now it seems like there will never be a sequel or even DLC, unless Epic Games comes to an agreement with them.

On the bright side, maybe Amplitude, Rock Band and other games they have created could come to PC on the EGS and would get marketed properly. However, since there has never been a merger or acquisition in gaming (or any other industry) that resulted in a better product or which benefited the employees or customers of the acquired company: RIP Harmonix, you will be missed. Maybe someday, the devs will open another studio and start fresh.

 

[HarveyHouston]

So let's see if Epic will save it or expectedly sink it even more.

Wow, you paint such a cheery picture. Why is everyone so negative about this acquisition? Am I missing something?