In the second half of the 2000s, music games had taken over like never before. Kicking off with Harmonix’s Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 2, games featuring plastic instruments were just as popular, and most importantly for publishers, profitable, as Call of Duty.
Following Harmonix’s split from Activision in 2006, the storied developer created Rock Band in partnership with MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It was an escalation of the Guitar Hero formula, adding drums and singing to the mix, earning the studio numerous accolades in the years to come. Activision, meanwhile, handed the reins of the Guitar Hero franchise to Tony Hawk developer Neversoft that same year, producing its fair share of fan-favorite games.
