The rhythm game genre is one that’s near and dear to my heart. From my Guitar Hero sessions in my early teens to sneakily playing Rockband on PSP in class, I’ve always personally thought it was a bit of a shame that interest in the genre seemed to fall off a cliff in the last decade. The folks over at RedOctane Games clearly feel the same way, as they’ve now founded a brand new studio that specializes in rhythm games.
RedOctane Games is headed by Simon Ebejer, who served as production director for various Guitar Hero titles at Neversoft. Ebejer later went on to serve as studio head at Vicarious Visions and VP of Operations at Blizzard Entertainment. He’s joined by developers who have previously worked on Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, and the company also has a special advisory board that includes Charles and Kai Huang, the original founders of the Guitar Hero franchise.
In addition to that, the team also includes community leaders from the rhythm gaming space, and the company boasts that they’re being “built with the community from the ground up.” With strong roots in the rhythm community and a team of rhythm game veteran developers, RedOctane Games hopes to usher in a new era for the genre.
According to their press release, RedOctane Games has been hard at work on a new game, which has just entered its production phase. The company has yet to give out any details about their new project, but states that we should be able to expect an official announcement later this year.
“Rhythm games are about more than just gameplay they’re about feel, flow, and connection to the music and to each other,” said Simon Ebejer, Head of Studio. “RedOctane Games is our way of giving back to a genre that means so much to us, while pushing it forward in new and exciting directions.”
