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Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”