Highlights
- Guitar Hero's massive success in the past makes it plausible for Microsoft to revive the franchise after acquiring its publisher Activision in 2023.
- Taylor Swift's past involvement with the Guitar Hero franchise, as well as the ongoing demand for her Eras Tour, presents an opportunity for her to collaborate to bring an interactive concert experience to fans through a new Guitar Hero game.
- A possible Taylor Swift-centered Guitar Hero game could include songs from her Eras Tour and feature a career mode where players compete with Swift and other artists to become the next pop superstar. However, licensing her songs and likeness may present a significant hurdle to overcome.
Music rhythm games were once a popular genre during the early 2000s, and it is no secret that Guitar Hero led to its massive success. During its popularity, Guitar Hero became a colossal video game franchise, spawning numerous sequels and spin-off titles that quickly went beyond gaming and became a mainstream phenomenon in pop culture. Eventually, Guitar Hero slowly faded away from the spotlight, making the franchise dormant for almost a decade after the release of 2015's Guitar Hero Live.
In October 2023, Microsoft completed its acquisition of Guitar Hero's publisher Activision, sparking conversations on whether it plans to revive some of Activision's dormant franchises. While Microsoft still hasn't outlined official plans regarding the possible return of Guitar Hero, its massive success in the past makes it plausible. One potential path Guitar Hero could take to return to the spotlight again is collaborating with prominent music industry figures. Taylor Swift, one of the biggest names in music for almost two decades now, could play a pivotal role in bringing Guitar Hero back to its glory days.
Music Rhythm Games To Play If You Miss Guitar Hero
These rhythm games can keep the beat going amidst the Guitar Hero franchise's recent silence.
Guitar Hero Featuring Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour
It is worth remembering that while Taylor Swift's involvement in the video game industry has been primarily unofficial, she did appear in Guitar Hero's 2009 spin-off, Band Hero, as a virtual avatar and an unlockable playable character in the game's story mode. Given her past involvement with the Guitar Hero franchise, it is safe to assume that Swift could be persuaded to return to the franchise again, especially if it could mean a new way for fans to enjoy her music. It is no secret that ever since Swift returned to touring with The Eras Tour in March 2023, fans have been clamoring to secure tickets to her show.
Despite having 151 shows spanning 4 continents, many could not get tickets, with demand still exceeding supply. In an effort to bring The Eras Tour to more people, Swift released a concert film last October. Given the ongoing demand to experience The Eras Tour in any shape or form, there is an opportunity for Swift to bring the tour to an even bigger audience with a Guitar Hero game that is focused on bringing an interactive Eras Tour experience to fans' living rooms. While past Guitar Hero games featured multiple artists, a game that primarily features Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour would still bring a considerable amount of content given that the actual 3-hour concert features almost 40 songs spanning the 10 studio albums, or "eras," of Taylor Swift's career.
In 2009's Band Hero , the game featured 3 of Taylor Swift's biggest hits during that point of her career, allowing fans to play "Love Story," "You Belong With Me," and "Picture to Burn."
A Guitar Hero Game That Lets Players Compete to Become The Next Taylor Swift
Apart from going through the songs of The Eras Tour in Guitar Hero fashion, another exciting feature that could be added to a possible Taylor Swift-centred Guitar Hero game is a career mode that lets players compete with Swift herself. In this career mode, players will face other artists serving as video-game bosses to make their way to superstardom before facing Swift as the final boss to determine who deserves the title of pop superstar. Like previous Guitar Hero games, players must meet specific requirements, such as completing certain streaks and multipliers and making little to no mistakes before advancing to the next level.
In the end, given that Microsoft hasn't announced any plans to revive Guitar Hero, let alone collaborate with Taylor Swift, all this could still be just a pipe dream, especially since licensing Taylor Swift's songs and likeness will likely be a significant hurdle. On the flip side, if Microsoft decides to honor Activision's wishes to revive Guitar Hero at some point in the future, leveraging Taylor Swift's popularity and the high demand for her Eras Tour concert is an excellent opportunity that shouldn't be overlooked.
