Rock Band 4 is coming to PC – but only if you help crowdfund it
User-made songs via Steam Workshop sounds like a huge perk
Rock Band 4 released back in October, and although we didn’t know it at the time, Harmonix had more than two stops planned for the reunion tour – but it will only make a third if a just-launched crowdfunding campaign is successful.
Harmonix plans to release a PC version of the game to join the existing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases, but it won’t be a straight port: the PC release will also bring back the Rock Band Network platform, letting users create and sell their own songs. Before, there was a fee and a lot of red tape involved, but now it will simply be run through Steam Workshop and creators will get a cut of any sold songs.
But for this plan to come to life, Harmonix needs some capital – from both anxious PC music-gaming fans and also investors. Today, the company launched a crowdfunding campaign on Fig, which lets average backers and larger-scale investors alike put their money behind game projects, and it’s looking to raise US$1.5 million (about £1.07 million) to fund the PC version.
Harmonix is working on Rock Band VR for the Oculus Rift and surely other ideas, so they won’t do most of the work in-house. Instead, the funds will mostly go to Sumo Digital, the studio behind LittleBigPlanet 3 and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, to handle the conversion, although Harmonix will do “most of the heavy lifting” on the Rock Band Network functions.
None of the lower backer levels come with instrument controllers by default, although you can add them to any order – and Harmonix says that they’re working to support "most existing" ones from other platforms. Bluetooth controllers will require the USB adapter released for consoles last autumn, and they’re working alongside Microsoft to bring support for the Xbox One wireless instruments.
Dropping US$49 will get you a copy of the game in Q4 this year, along with 30 bonus songs and access a week before average buyers can grab it on Steam, while pricier backer levels come with things like t-shirts and access to Harmonix’s PAX East 2016 party in Boston next month.
You can even have dinner with Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos or Double Fine founder Tim Schafer with a US$10,000 backing amount, or get your own song into the game as official, free downloadable content with a US$25,000 drop. Meanwhile, investors who surely put in larger sums (with shares starting at US$250 apiece) will earn profits from the eventual release.
As of this writing, the campaign has amassed more than US$74,000 in pledges – about 4% of the goal – but it’s only been a couple of hours. Fans who have demanded a PC version of Rock Band for years have 35 days to make this happen.
[Source: Fig]
Read More › Rock Band 4 review
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
