Marking the much-anticipated return of online play to Rock Band, Rivals mode also represents the most dramatic shift to the Rock Band meta game since the franchise’s introduction in 2007. In Rivals Mode, players band together to form crews of up to ten people to take on other crews around the world in a structured and ongoing series of uniquely themed gameplay challenges. At the beginning of each challenge, crews will be assigned to one of six tiers. When a challenge ends, the best crews will ascend to a new tier, while underperforming crews will face demotion. As crews get promoted they’ll earn badges and face stiffer competition in their quest to earn their place amongst the elite in the highest tier - Bloodstone.

Rock Band Rivals challenges are made up of two distinct gameplay elements - Weekly Challenge Songs and Spotlight Songs. Crews looking to climb the leaderboard will need to focus on both if they want to succeed. Performance in weekly challenges is determined by the overall score earned by all crew members while playing qualifying songs. For example, in the challenge “I Want to Know What Love Is,” playing songs and artists with the word “love” in them will contribute to your crew’s Rivals score for the week. Spotlight Songs are an opportunity for Rock Band’s best players to show their stuff. Here, a crew’s Rivals score is determined by the single best performance achieved by the crew as a whole for each instrument. Balanced crews featuring elite singers, guitarists, bassists and drummers will have an advantage.

More than a dozen hit songs are set to join the Rock Band 4 DLC music library in December including a blast from Rock Band past: “Chop Suey!” by System of a Down. When the popular song from the Rock Band 2 soundtrack joins the Rock Band 4 DLC music library this week it will mark the first time a song has appeared on-disc and later been made available for purchase as Rock Band 4 DLC.

The following songs will be available this Thursday, December 1, on both Xbox One and PlayStation®4 for $1.99 per track:

• Kings of Leon – “Waste a Moment”
• System of a Down – “Chop Suey!”
• The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – “Starboy”

The lead single from Kings of Leon’s latest studio album, “Waste a Moment” starts off this month’s new DLC. Drummers will have a blast with this tune. Hi-hats were authored to the blue pad / cymbal to allow for proper tom sticking, so keep your hands and feet active throughout the track!

“Chop Suey!” by System of a Down makes its way to the Music Library as DLC this week. A legacy song off of the Rock Band 2 disc soundtrack, “Chop Suey!” brings a burst of high energy to your next Rock Band party. It’s also a fan favorite at our Rock Band events, so grab those instruments and rock the house!

Finishing this week’s DLC is a recent hit, “Starboy” by The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk. Daft Punk, iconic electronic musicians, team up with the smooth tones of The Weeknd to make this stellar track. Drums will experience a fair amount of kicks in the tune; head over to Practice Mode to warm up before the show.

Other artists set to contribute new songs to Rock Band throughout the month of December include:

• Aerosmith
• Aloe Blacc
• Avicii
• Kendrick Lamar
• Kool and the Gang
• LMFAO
• Lorde
• Meghan Trainor
• Sia
• Twenty One Pilots