🔗 Share this article

Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered 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?

“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”