A teaser of the tracklist for Stage Tour – the upcoming rhythm-action game by Guitar Hero producers RedOctane Games – has just been released, and, spoiler alert, it includes a bunch of hits.

Largely perceived as the spiritual successor to Guitar Hero – the multi-million dollar rhythm game series released between 2005 and 2015 – Stage Tour was announced in February and is scheduled for release later this year.

Red Hot Chili Peppers make an appearance with their 2006 release, Dani California, while Swedish band Ghost contribute Square Hammer – their Billboard Mainstream Rock chart topper.

Elsewhere, RATATATA – from Japanese kawaii metal band BABYMETAL and German electronicore band Electric Callboy – also makes the cut.

Nuno Bettencourt’s Extreme, with their 1990 single Get the Funk Out – whose solo Brian May himself hailed as a landmark in rock history – is also included in the tracklist, with Weezer’s alt-rock early-aughts hit Island in the Sun, Static-X’s Terminal Oscillator, and Good Kid’s Mimi’s Delivery Service rounding off the list.

Aside from this Rolodex of artists, Gibson, Kramer, Epiphone and Mesa Boogie are all in on the action, as a new Kramer-modeled guitar peripheral has been unveiled at the 2026 IGN Live event this past weekend. Other instruments and equipment from these brands are also said to be featured in the game.

RedOctane Games confirmed that Stage Tour will support plastic instrument controllers and up to four players across groove/bass, vocals and drums, as well as support for standard computer keyboard controls and gamepads.

With the ultimate aim of not only bringing rhythm games back, but bringing them back better than ever before – at least according to project lead Alex Jeffreys in the developer spotlight trailer – the game looks set to follow Guitar Hero’s lead.

If the initial tracklist is anything to go by, it will not only give a boost to established names in music, but also help launch new ones.

Guitar Hero did help transform bands like DragonForce into household names after all – so much so that, according to Herman Li, the song featured in the game, Through the Fire and Flames, tends to overshadow the rest of the band's repertoire.

The game also helped inspire a newer generation of artists to pick up guitar and make it their own. Yasmin Williams is one such guitarist who, inspired by Guitar Hero, flipped her acoustic onto her lap and developed her unique lap-tapping technique.

Prince’s words about Guitar Hero, and his rejected involvement in the video game, have resurfaced, with the Purple One once explaining why he turned down the franchise.

Guitar Hero has been in the news recently, after its producer – Red Octane Games – announced Stage Tour, a spiritual successor to the hugely popular music rhythm game.

The impact Guitar Hero has had on the wider music world is hard to ignore. It made DragonForce a household name, rekindled the careers of bands like the Fall of Troy, and inspired generations of players to pick up the instrument.

With the game at the height of its powers, its developers apparently approached Prince to strike up a deal. He didn’t bite – and it wasn't just for financial reasons.

When asked by American talk show host Tavis Smiley about his thoughts on the Guitar Hero craze in 2009, he said: “Well, I'm not mad at ‘em. I hear it made like $2 billion, and they came to us and offered us a very small portion of that.

“But,” he adds, “I think it's more important that kids learn how to actually play the guitar. It's a tough instrument. It took me a long time, and it was frustrating at first, but you just have to stick with it.”

The Purple One wasn’t wholly against the game, even though some critics were more vocal about it game-ifying the craft of learning the instrument. Led Zeppelin famously turned the game down, and Jimmy Page was particularly vocal about his feelings, for instance.

Meanwhile, Prince quietly declined the offer and focused on why people should pick up a real electric guitar rather than a guitar-shaped controller.

“It's cool for people who don't have time to learn the chords or ain't interested in it,” he says, “but to play music is one of the greatest things. To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings. And I would wish it upon everybody. It's heaven.”

In the comments of an Instagram reel sharing the interview clip, Journey's Neal Schon also weighed in.

“That’s cool, I didn’t know he turned it down,” he comments. “I did as well for the same reason.”

On the flip side, however, many guitarists, including Stray Kids’ Garrett Jones and Fender signature artist Steve Lacy, both say the games were a vital part of their playing journey. Its success also came at a time when rock music was falling out of the mainstream, helping to revitalize the genre in the public consciousness.

Elsewhere, the Cult of the Lamb video game has tapped up an all-star cast of shredders for its revamped soundtrack, and Fender has collaborated with Fortnite to bring its most famous guitars and basses to the hugely popular video game. Music and gaming will always be intertwined.

Stage Tour, the de facto spiritual successor to the Guitar Hero video game, is coming – and it’s got the backing of Gibson.

The game is being developed by a cluster of creators from Guitar Hero’s RedOctane – now operating under RedOctane Games, founded last summer. It is set to reprise its rhythmic-focussed gameplay, while promising “modern twists” to the all-time classic.

Guitar Hero, first launched across gaming platforms in 2005, was a cultural revelation. Arriving with a guitar-like controller and soundtrack packed with iconic guitar moments, it inspired many to learn how to play a proper guitar and helped break bands like DragonForce in the process.

The partnership with Gibson, like Fortnite’s Fender collab, means that Gibson electric guitars will be included in the game as unlockable items as part of a swathe of personalization options.

That includes players building their band from a range of characters “to create a lineup that feels uniquely yours.” My pick is the vampiric George Harrison avatar, which can be spotted in the game reveal, wielding a blue Gibson Les Paul.

The controller itself has also had a glow-up. It might look like a Cherry Red Fender Strat, but it's actually a Kramer, a brand owned by Gibson. The controller comes complete with colored buttons on the fretboard and a whammy bar, like the classic controllers of the past.

“With new instruments and deep charting systems, we’re raising the bar on what we believe a rhythm game can be, while also catering to those wishing to simply enjoy a casual experience and have a good time,” says RedOctane Games.

Closed alpha testing for the game is expected to kickstart in the summer, and there’s an “experienced group of community fans from the rhythm gaming community” on board to provide feedback and help finesse the game.

There isn’t on any word on the song licensing, but if it is anything like its predecessors, it’s set to be chock full of universally admired guitar anthems.

The game is expected to be available on a range of platforms, including PC.

Speaking to Guitar World last month, Stray Kids guitarist Garrett Jones spoke about the video game's impact on his playing journey, and neo-soul singer-songwriter Steve Lacy credits the game for helping him fall in love with the instrument.

It's been 20 years since Guitar Hero was launched in North America, and allowed the everyday gamer and guitar aficionado to experience the bona fide rockstar experience from the comfort of their bedrooms.

The concept was and still is simple. The player brandishes a guitar-shaped controller and must match the colored notes scrolling down the screen in time with their chosen track.

The first game in the series was developed with a budget of less than $2 million, but Guitar Hero found such an enthusiastic audience that the game surpassed $1 billion in retail sales (in North America alone) in just 26 months.

Its resounding success meant that the artists and labels were clamoring for their songs to be included in the game.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix – the game's developer – tells The Guardian.

“Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

DragonForce were one of the bands who benefited from the Guitar Hero effect. Their 2006 song, Through the Fire and Flames, was included in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – and quickly turned them into a household name.

“I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” recalls DragonForce guitarist Herman Li. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners Slipknot and Disturbed on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, their song's exposure through the game even threatened to overshadow and upend the rest of the band's repertoire.

“In the past, I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives.”

Guitar Hero has also played a role in gamers actually picking up the real-life instrument – and becoming quite good at it. Last year, fingerstyle virtuoso Yasmin Williams recounted how Guitar Hero inspired her to flip her acoustic onto her lap and develop her one-of-a-kind lap-tapping technique.

Since earning his first Grammy nomination while he was still in high school with the genre-blending avant-garde outfit The Internet, it's safe to say that Steve Lacy has gone from strength to strength.

Now, with the upcoming release of Oh Yeah?, his first album since 2022’s highly lauded Gemini Rights, he’s indisputably at the forefront of a new type of guitar hero – one defined by an off-kilter, homespun playing style, a strong production sensibility, and a keen eye for collaborators.

Looking back on his humble beginnings in Compton, Lacy recalls how he started playing guitar – crediting his church band with inspiring him to pick up the instrument in the first place.

“At the end of the service, they would just shred, and I would sit there and watch with my jaw to the floor, not moving,” he tells Rolling Stone. By then, he had already become enamored with the concept of playing guitar, thanks to hours spent with Guitar Hero.

“When I was 10, I was obsessed with the instrument. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to be around it. I wanted to hear it,” he says matter-of-factly.

Fast forward to 2023, and Lacy's status as a Gen Z Stratocaster icon earned him a signature model with Fender – the Steve Lacy “People Pleaser” Strat.

Speaking about his penchant for the model in an interview with Guitar World, Lacy said, “I think the Strat is a good representation of my roots as a guitarist. When I think back to the people that I loved and looked up to when I was starting out, they were all rocking the Strats.

“Jimi Hendrix was one of the biggest influences on me back then. I was a young Black kid watching Hendrix rocking the hell out of his Strat and thought ‘Damn!’ I started out on a Squier, too, so it was only right that I’d end up working with Fender to have my own signature.”

Elsewhere in the GW interview, Lacy revealed how he ended up co-writing and co-producing a Kendrick Lamar track and working with Thundercat.

Thanks to Yasmin Williams, Daniel Donato, and Seera's Meesh, there's veritable proof that Guitar Hero has served as a launchpad for many budding musicians to actually pick up a guitar or bass and form a band.

Inhaler’s Josh Jenkinson is another guitar player to add to that list – and in his case, obsessing over Guitar Hero and eventually picking up the guitar led him to connect with Bono’s son, Elijah Hewson, and join the Irish rockers Inhaler.

“It was Guitar Hero, funnily enough,” he says in the new issue of Guitar World about how he got started on the instrument. “All my uncles played it, and I got addicted to it. I’d be going round to their houses all the time; eventually, I got my own game console, and I couldn’t stop playing it.

“My grandma asked me why I was spending so much time pretending to play the guitar when I could just get a real guitar and try to learn how to actually play,” he adds with a laugh.

“Of course, there is no crossover from playing the game to actually playing a real guitar, so all those thousands of hours I put in didn’t really count for much, though maybe I guess it helped to get a sense of rhythm.”

Lo and behold, his grandma stepped in and booked some lessons for him – and the teacher she found managed to pique his interest from the get-go.

“He just asked me what I wanted to play, and he did that trick of teaching me songs I knew from the start. I’d never done very well at school; I couldn’t buckle down to studying and doing homework.

“I was a bit like that with the guitar for a couple of years – the teacher would [give] me something to learn, but I wouldn’t even work on it until just before the lesson. I’m sure he knew I wasn’t putting the effort in, but then I really started to get into it.”

That’s when things finally clicked. “I started to make serious strides – once I realized that the more you put in, the more you get back out of it. When I really got interested, my uncle’s girlfriend gave me her Encore Strat copy and practice amp. I played that for years.”

Jenkinson, alongside Hewson, has previously talked about why they’re not bothered by the U2 comparisons they often get, and why the latter is neither trying to sound like his dad nor trying to hide the connection.

For more from Inhaler's Josh Jenkinson, plus new interviews with Khruangbin and the Smashing Pumpkins, pick up issue 595 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

For a certain generation of readers, understanding the cultural impact of Guitar Hero is not a difficult task: it triggered a cultural explosion that made guitar music cool again and birthed a new generation of electric guitar heroes, with Herman Li and DragonForce leading the charge.

Li, who has just completed his surprise pivot from Ibanez to PRS with a wildly different signature guitar, recently reflected on the life-changing madness the video game’s popularity helped grant not just for him, but for a whole legion of players.

DragonForce had been around for sometime when Guitar Hero sought to include the high-octane shred fest that is Through the Fire and Flames into its game. Before Guitar Hero flipped the guitar world upside down, the band had released three albums, toured with Iron Maiden, played at Ozzfest, and sold out a run of US shows.

Yet, as successful as they were in the eyes of some, others met them with belittling grins.

“I mean, they were long songs with a million guitar solos,” Li says of their earliest material in a new interview with Andertons. “People used to laugh at us back then, they'd say, ‘Why are you playing guitar solos? No one listens to this stuff. This is so lame.’ So we thought, ‘Let's do more of it, let's go even faster.’ We made it more over the top.

“So we evolved with the third album [2005's Inhuman Rampage]. We were part of a movement that made guitar cool again. Grunge and nu-metal had wiped out all these amazing guitar players.”

Indeed, Dave Mustaine has famously criticized nu-metal bands, saying they don't do guitar solos because they can't, but Lee Anderton has an interesting alternate take. The rise of those movements, he says, came in the wake of decades of technical pyrotechnics, tapping, and sweep picking. There needed to be a cultural reset.

“The grunge thing happened just as it had become a real problem for people learning to play the guitar,” Anderton observes. “They realized it would take years and years to be as good as Mark Knopfler or Steve Vai. Then Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher, and the nu-metal guys came, and people could do that in weeks. All of a sudden, guitar sales went [through the roof].”

The changing of the guard to a more simplistic art form was inevitable – as Wolfgang Van Halen says, his dad “kind of” ruined '80s guitar music as a legion of copyists came out of the woodwork. But it was also inevitable that the pendulum would swing back the other way, and Guitar Hero was a real driver for that.

“When they [Neversoft] contacted me, I already knew about the game, I'd played it myself,” Li says of Guitar Hero III. “These moments in time: Guitar Hero helped guitar, for sure. I've met a lot of musicians who have told me that they got into guitar because of Guitar Hero and DragonForce.

“And looking back, the grunge era was great because it shows that the guitar is a tool to express your artistic side. It's not about how fast you can shred. It wasn't, ‘You have to be at this level or not play at all.’ The guitar can be enjoyed in so many ways.”

While a power metal masterclass in its own right, DragonForce's Through the Fire and Flames has become synonymous with Guitar Hero. The expert difficulty level of the track quickly gained notoriety upon the release of the franchise's third installment, Legends of Rock, in 2007, and has eluded many button-mashing gamers since.

But despite its popularity, the fee DragonForce were paid for Through the Fire and Flames to be included in the game was much lower than you might guess.

In a new TikTok video, guitarist Herman Li says the band were not paid the “millions of dollars” one might expect for the song, but rather a one-off fee of “just a bit less than $3,000”.

He adds that this sum was subsequently divvied up amongst the band members, their manager, record label, accountants and others, meaning the amount Li himself pocketed from allowing the use of the track was “barely any money” – so little, in fact, that he doesn't remember.

But the guitarist isn't at all resentful; in fact he says Guitar Hero featuring the track led to a great deal of exposure for the band at a time when “guitar music wasn't really that popular”.

“Letting the audience hear our music and decide if they like it or not was really special, because we definitely don't play music that fits the radio,” he says. “You're not gonna hear seven minutes of shredding melodic metal on the radio.”

It could be argued that DragonForce and Guitar Hero have a sort of symbiotic relationship, as the exposure to the masses that Guitar Hero granted the band has so far netted Through the Fire and Flames over 160 million streams on Spotify to date, a number far greater than any of their other songs.

In terms of commercial success, the song is certified platinum, having sold over a million copies globally.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Guitar Hero could be making a comeback following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In an interview with The Washington Post following the acquisition, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted that he's keen to revive some old franchises.

While Guitar Hero itself was not named as a potential title for revival, its commercial success makes it highly likely, with a whopping 25 million units sold and $2 billion in gross revenue. The most recent installment in the series was 2015's Guitar Hero Live.

Following the recently announced acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer has said he's keen to revive some old franchises.

In a new interview with The Washington Post, Spencer reveals a key component of Microsoft's consumer acquisition strategy going forward could be in resurrecting shelved gaming series including King's Quest, Hexen and, pertinent to this publication, Guitar Hero.

In recent times, many studios under the Activision Blizzard banner have been redirected towards working on one of the company's most successful titles, Call of Duty.

But as Spencer says, following the completion of acquisition, he'll look into reallocating resources from these studios towards exploring the potential of older, cult classics.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to work with [the studios] when the deal closes to make sure we have resources to work on franchises that I love from my childhood, and that the teams really want to get,” Spencer said. “I’m looking forward to these conversations. I really think it’s about adding resources and increasing capability.”

So for those whose childhood consisted of hours upon hours of trying to nail DragonForce's Through the Fire and Flames on Expert level, you might soon get the chance to dust off that guitar controller and try your hand at some fresh songs in a new Guitar Hero installment.

We'd wager the chances are high we'll eventually see a revival of the series, mostly due to its staggering commercial success.

To date, the games – which number a whopping 25 titles – have sold more than 25 million units, generating over $2 billion in gross revenue. The most recent entry in the series was Guitar Hero Live in 2015.

Tom Morello released his Comandante EP back in October, and at the time we called the track Interstate 80, featuring an electric guitar duel with Slash, the EP’s “six-string centerpiece”.

Now, Slash and Morello have gotten together to discuss the making of the song, as well as the accompanying music video, which finds the two guitar heroes revisiting their avatars from, well, the Guitar Hero video game.

“I just thought it was the coolest and most original thing I’ve heard as an idea,” Slash says about incorporating the cartoon avatars into the clip.

“This is the first time that Slash and I have dueled on record,” Morello says. “But in the game Guitar Hero there were plenty of Morrell-ian, Slash-ian duels.”

He continues, “I remember that game when it came out, it became my life and Slash’s life because all of a sudden our fanbase went down to, like, five years old and we became these kind of cartoon avatars for a generation. So I wanted to bring that duel to life. A duel which you may have seen in your living room or your basement many times was made flesh.”

Regarding collaborating with Morello on Interstate 80, Slash says, “He’s just a blast to play with. He’s got a great style and a great technique and a great sound. And I think our contrasting styles work really well together.

He continues, “On Interstate 80 I just did a bunch of solos throughout the song and then [Tom] did his solos and they cut them together and they just fit together great. It’s like two completely different sides of the spectrum style wise.”

Let’s face it: video games are a ton of fun. As much as we’d all like to spend our spare time playing guitar, it’s fun to switch things up, and video games are a great way to do just that. Luckily, there are plenty of guitar- and music-focused video games worth checking out, appealing to experienced players and non-musical folks alike. Here we run down a few of the best. So put down your guitar, pick up a game controller, and let’s dig in.

Rocksmith

Developed by leading game developer Ubisoft, Rocksmith claims to be the fastest way to learn guitar. With over three million users worldwide, the award-winning game — which dynamically adjusts to the users’ individual skills — features a song selection that includes cuts by The Police, Foo Fighters, Oasis and many more. Compatible with electric, acoustic guitar and bass, Rocksmith supports several different guitar types as well. 95% of users claim to have improved as guitar players, so it’s easy to see why this fun, enjoyable approach has become so popular. Find out more here.

Danger High Voltage

Sharing its name with Electric Six's hit 2002 song, Big Time Gaming’s Danger High Voltage is a slot game playable across multiple devices, with 4,096 ways to win. You might call it the perfect blend of fun, competition and guitar. The sound effects and music used in the game really help bring it to life, making players feel like they're right in the middle of a rock concert while playing. Find out more here. 

Guitar Hero

First released in 2005, the Guitar Hero series is likely the most successful guitar-based gaming series ever. There have been more than ten Guitar Hero titles released over the years, including band-centric releases, expansion packs and more. The games have become so popular that it’s inspired many to take up  guitar playing in real life as well. While most Guitar Hero titles are worth a look, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock certainly sticks out as one of the best of the series. Find out more here.

Rock Band

Rock Band, developed by the original team behind Guitar Hero, is a fantastic video game and one that every guitarist should check out. Multi-instrument play was introduced in this game, allowing players to try other instruments in addition to the guitar. Like Guitar Hero, Rock Band has inspired many to try their hand at playing an instrument in real life, too. It’s a fun game to play by yourself or with friends, and is a blast if you’re a guitarist. Find out more here.