harmonix
Latest
Rock Band 4’s next weekly DLC drop will be its last
Rock Band 4’s weekly DLC drops are coming to an end. Harmonix plans to give full attention to the Rock Band-like Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game inside Epic’s digital world.
Fortnite Festival tries to bring back the heyday of music gaming
Fortnite Festival brings Rock Band-like rhythm gaming to Epic's ever-expanding online powerhouse.
Epic Games buys Harmonix to create 'musical journeys' in 'Fortnite'
Epic Games has acquired Harmonix, the studio behind titles like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central and more recently Fuser.
'Fuser' wants you to DJ for a 24/7 live music festival
A 'Fuser' update gives you the chance to DJ on a 24/7 live stage with hundreds of other people watching.
‘Fuser’ is a complex music game that can still please newbies
Harmonix's new 'Fuser' game lets you live out your festival DJ dreams thanks to a robust set of music-making tools.
Google snaps up Stadia exclusives from Harmonix and Supermassive
Details about Splash Damage's 'Outcasters' also emerged during Stadia Connect.
'Fuser' is 'Rock Band' and 'DropMix' without the expensive clutter
10 years ago you'd be forgiven for calling Harmonix "the Rock Band guys," because there was a three-year span where that's all the developer produced. And for the past few years Harmonix has gone all in on VR, with titles like Audica and uh, Rock Band VR. There was one notable diversion in that time, a card-based mobile game called DropMix where you mixed up musical tracks using NFC-enabled cards. But that never really took off. However, the mechanics introduced in it do live in again in Harmonix's upcoming multiplatform game, Fuser.
Harmonix’s next music-making game puts your DJ skills to the test
Harmonix, the developer behind Rock Band and Dance Central, is back with a new music-making game: Fuser. Players will become music festival DJs, mixing vocals, bass lines, beats and riffs from artists like Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, 50 Cent, The Chainsmokers and Imagine Dragons. They'll earn points for timing and crowd feedback, and they'll be able to share their mixes with friends.
Harmonix's rhythmic shooter 'Audica' is coming to PSVR this fall
When Harmonix revealed its virtual reality rhythm shooter Audica back in February, there was a notable omission from the announced platforms: PlayStation VR. Players with that headset won't have to wait a whole lot longer to dive in and blast away at notes though, as Audica is coming to PSVR this fall.
'Dance Central' arrives on Oculus this spring
You might have felt like you had cutting-edge moves when you boogied through Dance Central -- thanks to the Kinect -- on Xbox 360, or when you downloaded it on your Kinect-less Xbox One. But soon, you'll be able to tear it up in virtual reality. Harmonix is bringing Dance Central to VR this spring. It'll be available on Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S, and it's set to be a launch title on the forthcoming Oculus Quest.
Harmonix's answer to 'Beat Saber' is a VR rhythm shooter
Beat Saber has become something of a hit in the rhythm game scene thanks to its clever VR mechanics, and the veterans at Harmonix clearly want to offer their own response. They've unveiled Audica, a VR-only title where you blast the notes instead of slicing or tapping them. You're testing both your aim and your knack for keeping time, really. The soundtrack includes tunes from "some of the world's most popular electronic artists" (no Rock Band-style jams here), and you'll naturally compete against others on global leaderboards.
'Rock Band VR' is the dorkiest game ever and I love it
Rock Band VR will make you feel like a rock star. But from the outside, you'll look like a crazy person with an Oculus Rift on your head and a plastic guitar in your hands, strumming along in silence. Basically, you'll look like a huge dork while playing it. But the embarrassment is worth it: Rock Band VR successfully captures the feeling of actually playing music in front of a crowd. Even though it's Harmonix's first stab at virtual reality, the end result is immersive and, most importantly, fun.
Harmonix and Hasbro's new card game mashes up hit music
The heyday of music games may have passed, but that hasn't stopped Harmonix from experimenting with new ways for you to experience your favorite tunes. Sure, there's a new Rock Band coming to VR, but for those who prefer something a bit more old school, the company's developing a new card game with toy company Hasbro. Dropmix is a music-mixing game about outscoring your opponent, building an awesome song collection and creating the dopest beats.
'Rock Band VR' is coming to the Oculus Rift on March 23rd
You won't have to wait much longer to play Rock Band VR. Developer Harmonix has announced that its virtual reality title is launching for the Oculus Rift on March 23rd, with pre-orders available now through Amazon. You should keep in mind that the bundles being sold, one for PlayStation 4 and the other for Xbox One, only include a digital copy of the game and a guitar controller.
'Rock Band VR' is a completely different kind of guitar game
When Oculus first teased Rock Band for virtual reality, it sounded like kind of a stupid idea. A guitar game? In 2016? In virtual reality? How passe. It was hard to imagine how the series' iconic stream of colored notes would translate to VR, and I immediately dismissed the idea. It turns out I was right -- Rock Band's classic game mode didn't make a smooth transition to VR, so the team at Harmonix had to come up with something completely different -- and it's so much better than awkward rhythm game I was expecting.
'Rock Band Rivals' rocks out with two new game modes
Rock Band Rivals was announced last month during E3 as the first paid expansion for Rock Band 4. It quickly generated buzz ahead of its October release, but there were scant details as to what the expansion would actually provide. Now the cat's out of the bag and Rock Band Rivals sounds a lot like something die-hard fans of the rhythm game series are going to want to get in on.
'Rock Band VR' will only let you shred guitar
Abandon all hope, ye Rock Banders who live to bang on the drums, lovingly 'pluck' that bass or croon like you're America's next top someone -- for now, at least. According to UploadVR, developer Harmonix has confirmed that its upcoming Rock Band VR for Oculus Rift will only be playable with the guitar. Harmonix had hinted as much this past March when we attended a Rift preview event, saying that support for those three other instruments would likely be left off the table. But it seems like the effort to put the "band" back together in VR was just too challenging for the developer's first Rift effort. Instead, Harmonix has decided to perfect the immersive experience using only the guitar, which requires a clip-on Oculus Touch controller to track its placement in the virtual space.
'Rock Band 4' to get online multiplayer later this year
One of Rock Band's biggest draws has always been local multiplayer. When four or five people are in the same room, jamming away on plastic instruments, it's hard not to crack a smile. Of course, it's not always possible to get people together, so developer Harmonix is working on bringing online multiplayer to Rock Band 4. It's due this holiday and will offer a "Quickplay-esque" experience for you and a few friends. So if someone can't make band practice -- or your group is miles apart -- you can still play together and prepare for that all-important reunion gig.
'Rock Band 4' for PC fails to get crowdfunded
Labels may have wanted to keep Rock Band 4 from making the leap to PCs over piracy concerns, but not even a crowdfunding campaign could help jumpstart the effort. Harmonix held a month-long campaign on Fig in hopes of offsetting the development costs for porting the Xbox and PlayStation title to the PC, but as time expired, the project had only raised $792,817 or 52 percent of the $1.5 million goal. By the way, 27 people pledged $2,500 to nab every Rock Band song for the PC title. That's dedication.
'Rock Band 4' for PC will offer every DLC song ever for $2,500
Unlike on other platforms that have access to most every song in the franchise's archives, Rock Band 4 for the PC comes with no previous DLC content. As such, Harmonix has added an additional tier to its fan-funded Fig campaign that would give backers at that level every single song in the Rock Band DLC library. The only hitch: you're going to have to shell out a whopping $2,500 for it. Well, that and the campaign still needs to raise another two thirds of its $1.5 million funding goal in the next 11 days.
