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Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?

“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”