The long wait is finally over, Harmonix is bringing "Rock Band 4" to the latest gaming consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) this year.
While a specific release date has yet to be announced, it has been confirmed that the music-instrument-themed gaming title will finally hit the shelves sometime this year. Some fans are even speculating that the big announcement could happen at E3 2015 this June.
And while fans could expect a 2015 release for "Rock Band 4," Harmonix COO Alex Rigopulos revealed that the company will no longer have its yearly releases in order to avoid overlapping of songs.
"Going forward, our goal is to view [Rock Band 4] as more of a live service where we can gradually and incrementally append new functionality to the core experience rather than having $60 annual title updates," Rigopulos told IGN. "You shouldn't expect a Rock Band 5 in 2016."
Project manager Eric Pope, on the other hand, wants gamers to know that the new "Rock Band 4" is going to have better graphics and audio quality as it will now run on a 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second.
During an interview with We Got This Covered, Pope explained further the things that fans should expect with the upcoming game.
"It's going to look 'next-gen' with more realistic lighting, character models, and animation," Pope said.
On that note, Pope added that "Rock Band 4" will now feature an all new online multiplayer battle as it takes advantage of the gaming consoles' online gaming features.
"What, to me, is more exciting is the online infrastructure of the consoles," he explained. "It will open a lot [of] opportunities for us to support the game in more reactive, timely ways."
In addition to the upgrades Harmonix, is also requesting fans for songs, which could be added in the game's track.
A voting poll has been posted on the website where a gamer could request for songs that could later be included in "Rock Band 4" track.
While Harmonix is determined to bring the game to a new generation, Rigopulos told IGN, that "Rock Band" will remain loyal to its core.
"There is an existing gameplay core that is very powerful and very fun, and we don't want to tamper with that core," the co-founder said. "At the same time, we need to bring something new to the experience."
Furthermore Rogopulos announced that the previous plastic musical intruments from the previous game could still be used in the upcoming "Rock Band 4" following the release date.
"None of the games in the genre really delivered a lot of innovation, or maybe the right kind of innovation in the experience during that period," Rigopulos revealed in an interview with IGN. "Consumers want something new. We view it as a responsibility to deliver that innovation this time around."
"Harmonix is working tirelessly to ensure that gamers can make use of legacy music and DLC that they purchased last time around and so [too], we are doing all we can to try and make last-gen hardware compatible with Rock Band 4."
