RedOctane's 'next evolution in rhythm gaming' sure looks a lot like 2007's Rock Band

For a brief period in the early 2000s, RedOctane was a big deal. It peaked in 2005 as the publisher of Guitar Hero, leading Activision to acquire it the following year, but just a few years after that the ride was over: Amidst massive market oversaturation and flagging interest among players, Activision shuttered the whole thing in 2010.

That was the end of the tale until 2025, when Embracer brought RedOctane back, with the slightly modified handle RedOctane Games, to deliver "the next evolution...