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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, 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 risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”