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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously 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 path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller

The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?

“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”