Evidence is mounting that Harmonix is gearing up to stage a revival of Rock Band, after a source who is allegedly close to the studio today revealed that a new entry in the series is in the works for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Though this is by no means a confirmation, Bloomberg’s report is riding the crest of a wave of speculation. In fact, a recent survey hosted by the studio hinted that a revival was at the very least on the cards, as Harmonix looked to gauge interest of the fanbase. After all, Rock Band has been dormant since the release of Blitz in 2012, followed by a series of post-launch DLC, which begs the question: would the music title be able to attract an audience after so much time spent waiting in the wings?
In light of this recent rumor, Harmonix issued a statement to IGN, but neither confirmed nor denied a potential new installment.
“We’re excited by how enthusiastic our fans have been in regards to our most recently DLC releases, and we think it’s awesome that people are speculating about the future of the franchise!
While we still don’t have anything to announce, hundreds of thousands of unique users are still actively playing Rock Band games each month. This passion our fans have shown for Rock Band over the years suggests that rock truly hasn’t died, and we’ve always been clear that we’d love to return to the franchise when the time is right.”
Given how quickly Rock Band and genre contemporaries such as Guitar Hero vanished from the scene a mere few years ago, as the trend of plastic instrument-based titles proved to be no longer popularity nor profitable, it will interesting to see whether Harmonix will bring one of its flagship titles back in earnest.
Tell us, would you like to see a Rock Band revival on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One? Or do you feel as though the genre has already had its time in the limelight?