Guitar Hero creators reveal Stage Tour — with Ghost, Babymetal and Red Hot Chili Peppers on the tracklist
RedOctane Games — the studio behind the original Guitar Hero — has announced a new rhythm game. Stage Tour is set to launch on PC and consoles in autumn 2026, developed by a team that includes alumni of the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises. The announcement came via a developer spotlight trailer released at the IGN Live expo.
The first wave of confirmed tracks includes Ghost’s “Square Hammer”, “Ratatata” by Babymetal and Electric Callboy, Red Hot Chili Peppers' multi-Platinum “Dani California”, Extreme's “Get The Funk Out”, Weezer's “Island In The Sun”, Static-X's “Terminal Oscillator” and Good Kid's “Mimi’s Delivery Service”. RedOctane has described this as only a “first taste” of the full soundtrack.
The game will ship with a dedicated guitar controller co-developed with Gibson and its subsidiary Kramer Guitars, with in-game replicas of several Gibson models and a virtual recreation of the Gibson Garage store in Nashville. Beyond the guitar mode, there will also be microphone and drum controller modes to deliver what the developers call a “full band experience”.
“This is a redefining evolution of rhythm games”, says board member and prominent Guitar Hero streamer Alec Castillo in the trailer. Project lead Alex Jeffreys adds: “Our ultimate goal with Stage Tour is not only to bring rhythm gaming back, but bring it back better than before.” The original Guitar Hero, launched in 2005, became in early 2008 the first home-console game franchise to cross one billion dollars in retail sales.
