Guitar Hero killed, True Crimes canned, Freestyle studio slashed.

Activision has hit DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games with severe layoffs and axed the Guitar Hero series, Eurogamer understands.

United Front's open world game True Crime has been cancelled, sources have told Eurogamer.

An announcement is expected tonight ahead of the publication of Activision's financial results.

In December last year Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said Guitar Hero, and the music genre, had a future following dismal sales of Warriors of Rock.

"It's no secret that not just Guitar Hero, but also Rock Band, and the music category in general, do not have the same mass appeal today that they did a few years ago," he said.

"That said, I think that we would be foolish to not try and build on the strength of the Guitar Hero brand, because as you said, it's a pretty strong brand with great recognition and great likeability, and there's a lot to work with there.

"I think the road to rejuvenating that category goes through innovation," he continued. "The premise of Guitar Hero - that everyone has an inner rock star - it's something that we've all done forever. Some version of singing into a hairbrush, or holding a tennis racket like a guitar, or singing karaoke, or singing into the bathroom mirror - we all do that.

"I think a lot of video game genres that have had tremendous staying power have a fantasy-fulfillment element at their core, whether it's driving the fast car, or participating in professional sports, or going into battle. People don't get to do this in everyday lives.

"So I think the core premise and the core insight at the heart of the Guitar Hero franchise is still very relevant. I just think we need to escalate the experience for people and innovate. I think the genre is still fairly new, and so I think it's probably time for us to really look at what the next level looks like for that genre."

The publisher had confirmed the return of the franchise in 2011.

Eurogamer's calls to UK developer Freestyle Games went unanswered this evening. United Front Games had not responded to Eurogamer's request for comment at the time of publication.

Eurogamer has contacted Activision for comment.

wow, I'm actually really surprised they didn't do it with tony hawk. Guitar hero lived and died before TH ended.

Shit.

Activision continues to do what Activision does best.

This is why if I ever have to buy a game from Activision I buy it used :)

 
And United Front. The developers of Modnation Racers are dead.
 
Edit: No wait, nevermind. I got that wrong.

"I think the road to rejuvenating that category goes through innovation,"    

They better realize they can't fuck with Blizzard. If they screw up either StarCraft or WoW they're done. Dead in the water. That's what you get for ignoring the fact that there are actually people that care about games and don't randomly buy the most generic shit like it's grocery shopping. I don't care for Gun Game X.

All part of the recession and cut-backs. Even Activision has to 'cut the fat' during these lean times.

You fuckers are to blame because firstly you're you and secondly you buy generic shit every fucking year. Look in the mirror, you have become the casual monster you once feared.

And Activision successfully grinds another popular thoroughbred into glue.
 
I'm surprised True Crime got the axe, though.  Maybe it just wasn't shaping up well?  That would take a considerable amount of suck considering that this is the same publisher that keeps the Tony Hawk series on life support.

"wow, I'm actually really surprised they didn't do it with tony hawk. Guitar hero lived and died before TH ended. "

Shit.

Oh man =( 
I was looking forward to seeing how that True Crime game was going to turn out.

" wow, I'm actually really surprised they didn't do it with tony hawk. Guitar hero lived and died before TH ended. "

Hope United Front will be ok. 
 
 
Mod Nation 2 isnt gonna make it self.

Shit, that's a lot just in the headline.

"

"I think the road to rejuvenating that category goes through innovation,"    

Uhuh, Activision...  It's called Dance Central. "

It's always weird for me when I remember that Starcraft is technically an Activision property.

This was suprising

Whilst I can understand a lot of those projects getting canned, it sucks about United Front as I thought Modnation Racers was pretty awesome. 
 
I don't think Activision are trimming their company down because they are evil bastards, more because it's a necessity at this point for them to survive. They simply can't afford to dick around with developers which may or may not result in a profit. Sure they are rich as fuck, but should they really be using the money earned by World Of Warcraft or Call Of Duty to float an average True Crimes game that probably won't break even? That doesn't make sense financially, especially not during an economic downturn, better to pump that money back into the products which made the money in the first place. Nobody can afford to take risks right now.
 
Indie games are the future. You heard it here first.

" @animateria said:

"

"I think the road to rejuvenating that category goes through innovation,"    

Uhuh, Activision...  It's called Dance Central. "

Is Dance Central really the hit that journalists pegged it as?  Because I seriously have not heard much about that game at all since its release. "

" Whilst I can understand a lot of those projects getting canned, it sucks about United Front as I thought Modnation Racers was pretty awesome.  I don't think Activision are trimming their company down because they are evil bastards, more because it's a necessity at this point for them to survive. They simply can't afford to dick around with developers which may or may not result in a profit. Sure they are rich as fuck, but should they really be using the money earned by World Of Warcraft or Call Of Duty to float an average True Crimes game that probably won't break even? That doesn't make sense financially, especially not during an economic downturn, better to pump that money back into the products which made the money in the first place. Nobody can afford to take risks right now. Indie games are the future. You heard it here first. "

" @Metal_Mills: Oh really? Did you just edit your OP? What happened, did they withdraw their statement or something? "

I really like Guitar Hero, so this kinda sucks! I kept hoping they'd recapture Guitar Hero 5 this year, but I guess Warriors fucked up bad enough that they won't even try again. 

Killing off Guitar Hero is probably the best thing Kotick has ever done... although he killed it by oversaturation. 
 
As for True Crime, probably for the best... seems like an unnecessary franchise at this point.

 I'm not too happy that Guitar Hero is now dead. Not just the fact that lots of people lost their jobs, but that face that this franchise used to be good. Guitar Hero 1, 2, 3, and Rocks the 80s where great games. Activision didn't know when to stop bringing out Guitar Hero games. At this point I wish they just knew when to take a break between releases instead of releasing a game every, what felt like, 6 months.
 
RIP Guitar Hero. Also hope all the people who lost their jobs get back on their feet.

So why is it that Blizzard doesn't just completely overtake Activision again?

And nothing of value was lost.

" They better realize they can't fuck with Blizzard. If they screw up either StarCraft or WoW they're done. Dead in the water. That's what you get for ignoring the fact that there are actually people that care about games and don't randomly buy the most generic shit like it's grocery shopping. I don't care for Gun Game X. "

While it all sucks for everyone involved, at least Activision didn't shut them down just as Christmas was coming.

And I wish I could've eavesdropped on Blizzard's board room. Activision is now basically riding on WoW, Diablo, Starcraft and CoD. Also, wondering if they have an escape clause.

Guitar Hero is dead!  Long live Guitar Hero!
 
As much as I feel no sorrow for the dead husk of the GH franchise being kicked to the curb, I don't relish in it either.  The series is one of a few that completely consumed me for a good period of time once I was exposed to it.  I fell back in love with games because of GH, so fond farewell Judy, Pandora, Axel, et al.

Eh, it seems kind of expected. Sometimes companies need to throw dead weight overboard to stay afloat.

" Eh, it seems kind of expected. Sometimes companies need to throw dead weight overboard to stay afloat. "

I bought Warriors of Rock thinking it was going to be the swan song.  
 
It wasn't a revelation, but it was everything I expected it to be. 
Now to buy Rock Band....maybe...

FUCKING GODDAMMIT.

VIDEO GAMES, MAN. I TELL YOU WHAT.

" This is why if I ever have to buy a game from Activision I buy it used :) "

I guess the new 6-Button Guitar that Activision was focus testing didn't go over so well.

Damn. That's a lot. 
 
I was also looking forward to True Crime. This is unfortunate.

True Crime didn't look mindblowing, but it's sad that there is no place for the mid-tier game anymore.
 
Best wishes to all affected.
 
I'm somewhat glad I didn't take the programming route my friends did.

THEY CANCELED TRUE CRIME?! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU 
also don't care for Guitar Hero 

Part of me is sad because Guitar Hero got me into rock music (in general) when I first played it many years ago. But I stopped caring about the series after Guitar Hero III when it became Guitar Hero: Rock Band.

I skimmed and haven't seen this update:  DJ Hero is dead as well.