I can honestly say that I did not see this coming. Today, Harmonix dropped a bomb. A big bomb. A Steam bomb, if you will. That’s right. Rock Band 4 will be coming to Steam on PC this Fall. However, there is a catch. Harmonix needs your help to make this a reality.
Through the crowdfunding platform of Fig, Harmonix wants to bring Rock Back to the glorious PC master races out there. The campaign started today, and will continue until April 5th, 2016 at 11pm (No time zone mentioned). Being crowdfunded, of course there are perks: copies of the game, swag, picks, sticks and other things that may or may not rhyme with picks, and a lot more. Check HERE for the full list of stuff you can get, including a helicopter tour of Boston. However, Fig adds a new twist to the crowdfunding model. One can choose to forego the prizes, and straight up invest in this game. You will be an actual investor and not just “my name was in the credits in size 5 font so you can kind of see it was my first name.” You will actually earn a portion of the profits from each copy sold. That is pretty rad.
Utilizing the Steam Workshop, Harmonix is bringing back the Rock Band Network, for players to author their own songs, and bring user-generated content back to Rock Band. This allows players to search for and purchase new additional songs.
Rock Band 4 PC will launch with the same features and content updates from the console releases, and will be kept up to date. Features include:
- World Tour Campaign Mode
- Freestyle Guitar Solos
- 65 songs included “out of the box,” plus up to 33 additional songs for backers on Fig
- 1,700+ additional playable songs available as downloadable content
- Wireless guitar, drum kit and next-generation microphone support
There are more updates to come with regards to what instruments you can and cannot use, especially with Xbox One instruments, which Harmonix are currently in talks with Microsoft to get them to be compatible.
So what do you guys think? Do we really need another “port” for Rock Band 4? Do you like the idea of user generated content? I personally think this will help keep interest in the game, and help lay the groundwork for the RBN to be implemented on the console versions of the game. We shall see.
