ddIt’s official, Rock Band is back and the fourth installment is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this year! 

The last time we saw a new Rock Band title was in 2010 with the release of Rock Band 3. Harmonix took some time off from the franchise, even stopping DLC production at one point, but is now excited to get back to it on a new generation of consoles.

Rock Band 4 will focus on the core experience that gamers have come to love, but will aim to evolve this in meaningful ways, something that Harmonix will give more details on in May. They did say that you’d have all of the instruments you’ve come to expect in a Rock Band game, minus the keyboard, which has been eliminated. Vocal harmonies are back as well, and we can expect some changes to the vocals, though that hasn’t been detailed at this point.

Harmonix plans to make Rock Band 4 more of a live service that will change and evolve over time. They don’t plan to release annual $60 game updates, which should help to avoid the series fatigue that arose toward the end of the last console generation.

One major question that Rock Band players had was if your purchased song DLC will transfer over, and the answer to that is YES. There are some stipulations though. DLC is tied to your console account, meaning you can only transfer songs from PS3 to PS4, and from Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Due to licensing restrictions, the on-disc songs from Rock Band 3 won’t be available in Rock Band 4, but this could be addressed in the future. Songs from The Beatles: Rock Band won’t be available either. DLC will transfer over at no additional cost!

Another big question mark was if old Rock Band instruments will work, and that has proven to be more complicated. Harmonix is currently working with Sony and Microsoft to see if they can release an adapter that would allow old instruments to work. They are very optimistic that a solution will be found, and will update us on the matter when more information is available.

We will be getting a whole new set of instruments for Rock Band 4, they appear to be very similar to what we’ve seen in the past. Harmonix will offer pre-order exclusive colors via their website, you can sign-up to be notified when they are available.

Hopefully you’re all ready to get back to rocking out! MONG will have all the latest news on Rock Band 4 so be sure to visit often!

My Opinion:

YES!!! I have been waiting for some time for this announcement and couldn’t be happier that Rock Band is coming back. I’ve been a huge fan of the series since it initially released, and thought that it was time for the franchise to return given that I don’t have my PS3 hooked up to my main entertainment unit anymore. Knowing that all the songs I purchased (there were many) are coming to my PS4 is crucial, so I am happy they have that all figured out. I am excited to hear of how they are enhancing the gameplay experience, so May can’t come soon enough!

Ryan Amirault is an Associate Writer for MONG and loves pretending to be in a rock band! It’s too bad he can’t sing or play any instruments in real life! Follow him on Twitter.