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Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”