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It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. 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”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”