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 under-performing 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.

Kicking off the month are two great songs from Ratt and Twisted Sister. These rock staples will be available on both Xbox One and PS4 this Thursday for $1.99 per track:

• Ratt – “Round and Round”
• Twisted Sister – “I Wanna Rock”

Rock Band’s tenth anniversary celebration continues with Rock Band Rewind this month. Four Rock Band soundtrack favorites are coming to the Rock Band 4 DLC library. They are:

• Motörhead – “Ace of Spades” (First appeared on Rock Band 2)
• Panic! At The Disco – “Nine In The Afternoon” (First appeared on Rock Band 2)
• Ratt – “Round and Round” (First appeared on Rock Band 2)
• Sum 41 – “In Too Deep” (First appeared on Lego Rock Band)

“Over the years a ton of really great songs have appeared on the various Rock Band soundtracks,” said Tom Bender, Rock Band DLC product manager. “With the release of Online Quickplay last week, we know a lot of players are excited to play some of their favorite songs from previous Rock Bands with old friends. These are some of the most played songs in Rock Band history and now they can once again be added to everyone’s music library and played together.”

The full list of songs coming to the Rock Band 4 DLC library this month is as follows:

• Cake – “I Will Survive”
• Jason Derulo – “Want To Want Me”
• Motörhead – “Ace of Spades”
• Panic! At The Disco – “Nine In The Afternoon”
• Ram Jam – “Black Betty”
• Ratt – “Round and Round”
• Simple Minds – “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
• Sum 41 – “In Too Deep”
• Twisted Sister – “I Wanna Rock”