In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Activision’s developer relations VP Dan Winters expressed that their acclaimed Guitar Hero franchise is not actually finished, but on “hiatus.” This echoes sentiments of the game publishing giant from as reported by CVG back in February.
Activision stopped the production of the latest iteration of the famous rhythm game in mid-February, along with the highly anticipated open-world True Crime: Hong Kong. The termination of those projects was only a part of a massive restructuring in order to reduce costs, as they also cut 500 jobs, leading to the closure of both Bizarre Creations and 7 Studios, developers of Blur and DJ Hero, respectively.
Guitar Hero sales continued to slow down in the 2 years prior to it’s closure, and it made sense for Activision to pull the plug on the last sequel. However, according to Activision, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of it. Winters says that
“…the brand won’t go away. We’re just not making a new one for next year, that’s all.”
Hopefully Activision will learn from their experience with Guitar Hero by supporting their developers better to create quality titles, with franchises that continue to evolve and provide the same enjoyment each time around. Having a new iteration each year for a big title can hamper creativity and support from fans. If history repeats itself, even the multi-million selling franchise Call of Duty may be the next in line to suffer Guitar Hero’s fate.
Source: Develop Online
