Guitar Hero 5

Guitar Hero 5 is the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game will be developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is expected to be released on September 1, 2009. Similar to the preceding title, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5 is geared towards playing in a four-person band experience, including lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. New features have been added to the game from World Tour.

Gameplay in Guitar Hero 5 will be similar to that from World Tour. However, this version of the game will allow up to four players to any combination of instruments, meaning the game will allow multiples of the same type. Star Power is no longer shared by the band, and instead tracked for each player in a similar manner as Rock Band. A new play mechanic called "Band Moments" will require all members of the band to play sections of a song successfully to gain rewards, both in scoring and visual effects on screen. The Band Revival meter will appear when a player fails out of the song, requiring the other band members to play well as a group together in order to bring the failed player back into the game. The Career mode for the game will incorporate any World Tour DLC that the player may have. Bonus challenges in the game, such as scoring a number of points while in Star Power, will reward the player with unlockable content when they are completed.

Two new features have been announced for the game. The first is a "Party Play" mode, which allows players to jump into a band or drop out even in the middle of a song, and switch instruments or difficulty levels while playing. The second feature is a "RockFest" mode, which can be played by four players locally or eight online, with several sub-modes that influence how the game is played. For example, in the "Momentum" mode, the game adjusts the difficulty of the note track based on how well the player is playing, with more points rewarded by staying at the "Expert" difficulty. Other sub-modes of RockFest include "Elimination" in which the worst player is dropped periodically, "Perfectionist" where only certain sections of a song count towards points, "Do-or-Die" which forces a player to wait a brief time if they miss a note, and "Streakers" that rewards the player for long strings of consecutive notes.

The Music Studio feature, which allows players to create their own songs and distribute them through the "GHTunes" music service will also be improved.