Harmonix is teaming up with Mad Catz to bring Rock Band 4 to PS4 and Xbox One, and brings the franchise to a new generation of consoles, focusing on the features and gameplay that people love, and expanding the franchise in innovative ways that were informed by how fans play and what they want.  

“With Rock Band 4, we’re doubling down on the energy and excitement of playing music live with your friends,” says Harmonix Chief Executive Officer Steve Janiak. “Focusing on the core experience that our fans have told us they love allows us to evolve established gameplay in meaningful ways that we can’t wait to share with everyone later this year.”

“We couldn’t be happier to be working with Harmonix and help bring the band back together for the launch of Rock Band 4,” added Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz. “Harmonix possesses unrivalled passion and vision for music gaming and we can’t wait to introduce the next generation music platform to passionate gamers.”

In addition to a killer on-disc soundtrack, Rock Band 4 will support over 2000 tracks released since the 2007 launch of the original Rock Band, accounting for more than 500 of rock music’s most legendary artists.

“Since the beginning, we’ve called Rock Band a music platform. Players responded by downloading hundreds of their favorite tracks, and building a massive library of playable music,” says Rock Band 4 Product Manager Daniel Sussman. “It’s important for us to respect those purchases and enable our fans to bring that content over to the Rock Band platform on new generation consoles.”

Players who’ve purchased or downloaded playable tracks on last-generation consoles will be able to download and play those tracks on their new platforms at no additional charge*. Hundreds of tracks will be available at launch, with more back catalog music – and new tracks – to be added regularly after launch.

To celebrate the long-awaited announcement of Rock Band 4, Harmonix is offering a free downloadable track. “I Still Believe,” recorded by UK-based songwriter Frank Turner for his fourth EP, Rock & Roll, is available now for download today, free of charge, on PS3 and Xbox 360..

Players can guarantee that they can be ready to rock with new hardware on release day by signing up to be alerted when pre-orders go live. Additionally, fans attending PAX East in Boston between March 6 and March 8 can pre-order an exclusive Penny Arcade-themed guitar in person at Harmonix’s booth, #4224.