For more than a decade, Harmonix has structured licensing agreements for thousands of songs for use in Rock Band. There was a three-year stretch beginning in 2010 where the process was streamlined (or at least Harmonix was relieved of ...

These days, there are just two kinds of secrets in video games: the ones that you can uncover in a few minutes using Google, and the kind that remain totally anonymous. The internet has erased many of the world's mysteries, and the "unconf...

The "Stick vs Pad" debate when it comes to fighting games rages on, despite its utter irrelevance. It ultimately comes down to personal comfort, and can even change between games. For example, I use a stick for all Street Fighter titles, bu...

About a year ago, Rock Band leaned into the tendencies of its competitive players. The Rock Band Rivals expansion focused mostly on getting people to form crews, and then pitting those crews against one another in pursuit of high ...

On (or before) August 28, Rock Band Blitz will be leaving digital marketplaces for good Harmonix announced today. While not specifically mentioned, this is probably due to music licenses expiring. Blitz launched five years ago and record co...

Ever since Rock Band's comeback tour began in late 2015, Harmonix has done a commendable job of falling back into the routine of releasing weekly DLC. This post-launch support was a defining characteristic of the first games in the series,...

With how popular Ghost became to the Metal scene in such a short span, its hard to imagine they weren't already featured in Rock Band 4. I mean, we've got heavier acts like Opeth and Nevermore, but not Ghost? That blasphemy is about to be r...

I wasn't really sure what to expect when heading into Rock Band VR. I love the series, so more of it is always a good thing, but I knew this was something completely different. Perhaps that is the best way to describe it: something differen...

Harmonix never comes whack on an old-school track. This Thursday, Montell Jordan's '95 banger "This Is How We Do It" hits Rock Band 4 as DLC. Like all add-on tracks, it's priced at $2. It's something of an inverse of the first verse l...

In case you haven't noticed, in-house development studio bands have been a popular practice as of late. Square Enix has the rock group The Primals, and CCP, developer of EVE Online, has the slightly less conventional group "Permaband." Whil...

With Rock Band VR fast approaching, it looks like Harmonix is keen to detail exactly what you'll be doing when the novelty of VR runs out. In addition to the classic style of slamming keys in sync with a scrolling fretboard, you'll also hav...

Last time we checked in on Rock Band VR, Brett told you about three songs that had made the cut for the set list: "Walk This Way," "When You Were Young," and "Ain't It Fun." Good times. Simpler times. He's down in San Francisco doing Very I...

The headliner, like any good rock star, is keeping the crowd waiting. Everyone presumed it'd be ready to rock when the Oculus Touch controls released. Nope. Headliners go on stage when they're damn well good and ready. Harmonix has just re...

Have you forgotten about the new year yet? Well, Harmonix certainly hasn't as they've announced a slew of downloadable songs to kick off 2017. Along with some new hits come a few "classic" songs from previous games. While that is super neat...

In March of this year, Rock Band underwent a significant business change as Harmonix dropped Mad Catz and signed PDP to co-publish the Rivals expansion. The co-publisher's most forward-facing function is to manufacture the periphe...

I bought an Xbox One for one single reason: to play Rock Band 4. I've spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours in the Rock Band franchise. Thing is, about 90% percent of that time was on the drums. I was drumming so much that I eventu...

Do you not like my girlfriend? Do you think I need a new one? Well, for your information prospective reader, I don't even have a girlfriend. Oh, I made myself sad. Anyway, Rock Band 4 is getting a trio of songs from everyone's favorite faux...

Ever since the announcement of Rock Band 4, Harmonix has held steady in its assertion that we shouldn't expect Rock Band 5 in a few years' time. Rock Band 4 is a platform now, not a sequel that's meant to lead to yet another seque...

I can honestly say that it has been a long time since I've bought anything Rock Band related. The game was practically my life during college and I didn't start to wane in interest until around 2011. Rock Band 3 really did have everything I...

The last time we saw Rock Band VR, the best summary of the experience was a simple "Well, it's Rock Band, but in VR." Six months later, that's no longer the case. Not even close, actually. Harmonix has completely reworked the game, to the p...

Rock Band developer Harmonix has two very obvious goals in mind for the release of the Rivals expansion in October. On one hand, it wants to give existing customers something new, a reason to keep playing the game. On the other hand -- and ...

Around the reveal of Rock Band 4 in the spring of 2015, developer Harmonix assured us that Rock Band 4 wouldn't just be the game before Rock Band 5 and Rock Band 6. Instead, Harmonix was taking a more dedicated approach to th...

Most every video game goes through some degree of turmoil en route to becoming a finished product. Creative changes, financial woes, conflict with the publisher -- these are all examples of common issues that might cause strain on the devel...

[Update: The pricing is $30 for the expansion, $70 for the Guitar, $90 for the guitar and game, or $200 for the guitar, game, and drums] Details about Rock Band 4's multiplayer are still vague, but the company offered a softball update with...

Fender is going to be the signature look of Rock Band for a long time to come. If Harmonix is still pumping out Rock Band games 10 years from now, it'll be a Fender-styled plastic instrument hanging around your neck. In a press r...