Guitar Hero is making a return this year, report claims

A new entry in Activision’s Guitar Hero series is in development and will be released this year.

Kotaku reports that the game, which will be announced at E3 in June, will assume a more realistic” visual approach than previous entries in the series. More importantly it will again require the use of guitar peripherals.

It is not known who is developing the title, with former stewards RedOctane and NeverSoft having both been closed.

The last Guitar Hero game to be released was Warriors of Rock in 2010, with the series’ demise confirmed in early 2011.

"We don’t comment on rumour or speculation, but have previously said, that as one of the most beloved entertainment franchises, we would only bring Guitar Hero back if we developed the right innovations to usher the franchise into the new generation of gaming," an Activision rep stated.

It is also widely believed that rival music IP Rock Band is nearing a return.

Guitar Hero grew to become one of gaming’s biggest craze’s following the release of the first game in 2005. However, while success was fast and vast, the demise of the genre was equally as swift.

The failure of Rock Band’s Beatles spin-off, which many believed could be the single biggest release of its time, hit hard. Consumers grew tired of the need to hoard increasing numbers of large plastic peripherals, the cost of which was at odds with the then growing global recession.

Everybody wants to be a rock star and there was nothing like this on the market at the time. Best of all it involved everybody in the room. It was a great party experience," Kelly Sumner, the former CEO of Guitar Hero’s original publisher RedOctane and the man who oversaw Activision’s acquisition of the series, told MCV in 2011.

[But Activision] tried to get too much out of the franchise too quickly. They abused it. There’s no reason why Guitar Hero cannot continue. It’s a great product. My gut tells me there is still a significant market for Guitar Hero.

"Not every game can be a billion dollar franchise, but maybe that’s what Activision wants. I’d be surprised if they sold the brand as it’d prove to the world there is still a market for this product and show them up.

Look at how Take-Two has handled GTA. They haven’t thrown products out there. They’ve nurtured it for over ten years and it is still a strong franchise.”