Fortnite Festival is pretty neat, isn't it? It's great to see Guitar Hero and Rock Band pioneers Harmonix back on stage again, but deep down, I know many of us are holding out for something else. Yes, we're all hoping that a new Guitar Hero game emerges one day. Well, something might be brewing behind the scenes, because Guitar Hero Mobile is in the conversation again after quietly appearing on Instagram.
Earlier this year, I reported on the initial reveal of Guitar Hero Mobile on social media. It isn't anything grandiose or exciting like most game announcements, though. Instead, Activision appears to be using AI to gauge interest in another entry, rather than committing to development. It's all quiet on the plastic fretboard front, but Fortnite's latest player survey directly mentions the title, and it has me thinking whether Epic Games knows something we don't.
Not only does this survey spark up the possibility of Fortnite GTA skins, but asks players whether Guitar Hero Mobile is an "unreleased" title that they are looking forward to checking out. It sits alongside Marvel's Wolverine, 007 First Light, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Grand Theft Auto 6 on the list. Out of all the games on this aspect of the survey, Guitar Hero Mobile is the only new mobile game without any proper development updates or tangible gameplay to look at.
Epic Games may be following in Activision's footsteps and simply trying to see whether interest in Guitar Hero Mobile can help the studio enhance its Fortnite Festival offerings. However, as fun as the mode is, it doesn't quite hit the same as a fully-fledged Rock Band or Guitar Hero title. The rotating selection of songs isn't always brilliant, and shelling out $100 for a guitar controller, alongside buying Jam Tracks, isn't ideal. I miss the days of Rock Band: The Beatles, or Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock.
Activision is also a Call of Duty machine these days, leaving no room for anything besides entries in the long-running FPS game series. However, with Microsoft acquiring the franchise in its Activision merger, maybe there's hope of a return someday. In an interview at PAX last year, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer reflected on his decision to pass up on Guitar Hero as an Xbox-published title.
Spencer jokes that "this team came down to Redmond and Alex Rigopulos, who is great, love Alex, he pitches a game where they're actually going to make plastic guitars, and they're going to plug into consoles […] A few people played Guitar Hero. I heard that turned into a pretty good game."
Is Guitar Hero really making a comeback? Only time will tell. In the meantime, you can get your music with Fortnite Demon Rush mode, a new playlist tailor-made for fans of KPop Demon Hunters. Just be sure to check our list of Fortnite codes before you dive in.