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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”