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.

Harmonix is teaming up with ReverbNation for the second time this year for Rock Band’s free “Discover Series” – a Rock Band initiative that introduces Rock Band players to the world’s best up-and-coming artists.

The third pack in the “Discover Series,” Discover: ReverbNation Pack 01 features four songs that were selected through a Harmonix sponsored opportunity on ReverbNation calling for unsigned artists to have their music featured in Rock Band Rivals and experienced by Rock Band’s hundreds of thousands of active players. Discover the winning songs, performed by some of music’s most exciting up-and-coming artists, when Discover: ReverbNation Pack 01 is made be available for free to Rivals players on both Xbox One and PS4 beginning November 8th.

For over a decade, ReverbNation has been a pioneering force in the music industry. Using its extensive network of venues, festivals, brands, labels and publishers, ReverbNation has helped millions of emerging artists get better feedback, wider exposure, and deeper industry access. ReverbNation is one of the largest online music platforms, offering tools and services to help bands manage and advance their careers. Its unique ability to provide artists with opportunities to connect with new fans is one of the reasons why ReverbNation is considered a premier tastemaker for the music and touring industry.

In June of this year, Harmonix and ReverbNation put out the call to ReverbNation Artists who wanted their music included in Rock Band to “send us your best stuff.” Thousands answered, and the summer was spent listening to some amazing tracks from a bunch of incredibly talented artists. After much debate, four songs were chosen that, while musically diverse, are each special in their own right and a ton of fun to play in Rock Band.

Without further ado, the winners:

• Barely March – “Thinking Emoji”
• PREACHERVAN – “Love That Hurts”
• Ships Have Sailed – “Let’s Just Dance”
• tiLLie – “Save Yourself”