Rock Band 4 released to decent hype on consoles but it didn’t seem to capture what it once was. I think being a slimmed down game along with no good way to import all your previously purchased DLC really put a damper on the whole tour. Now Harmonix is looking to take to PC, where there’s no need to support weird cross-platform DLC importing, only to make it happen they need YOU! Yes, You!
Harmoinx needs 1.4 Million dollars to bring Rock Band 4 onto Steam and they are doing it with the help of crowdfunding site Fig. Fig is similar to our old favorites Kickstarter and Indiegogo except if you choose you can actually invest in the game and get a return should the game make money back. However know you can’t just throw in $20 and expect to get some money, you’ll actually need to do some work and you can check out the full details here.
Onto what we are all here for, the base level to get the game is $49 which will net you a copy of Rock Band 4 for PC via Steam. But you’ll also need drums, some guitars and a microphone to get the full experience. Those are available for an additional cost in the add-on’s after you’ve pledged. However Harmonix is looking into compatibility with previous guitar and drum controllers. Rock Band 4 PlayStation 4 controllers only require Bluetooth on PC while previous versions still will use the USB adapters I hope you still held onto.
The big plus for Rock Band 4 on PC is the return of the Rock Band Network, RBN, only this time it will all be through Steam Workshop freeing Harmonix of many of the infrastructure costs that led to that services downfall. Harmonix will still be checking the tracks uploaded to make sure everything is on the up and up and then you’ll be swimming in cash as millions of Steam users pay for your musical ingeniousness, after Valve and Harmonix get their cut of course. But it could be literally ten’s of dollars a month, TEN’S!
The only downfall we see is that the biggest issue on the consoles was all the DLC to import. With the PC version there is no DLC to import so that sweet rock library you’ve been building up all these years will have to be repurchased again. Depending on your library size can be a big consideration but what if, and this is just me dreaming, Rock Band 4 DLC is part of those delicious Steam Sales? If you’re like me that’s what you’re really hoping for, the ability to get a huge chunk of songs every winter for pennies on the dollar!
At the time of this story you have 34 days to get in on the excitement that is Rock Band 4 for PC. The completed experience will include:
- World Tour Campaign Mode
- Freestyle Guitar Solos
- 65 songs included “out of the box” – and you can get up to 33 additional songs if you back us here on Fig!
- 1700+ additional playable songs available as downloadable content
- Supporting wireless guitar controller, drum kit and next generation microphone
- Tools to author your own songs for play in the PC version of Rock Band 4 – submit them to Rock Band Network via Steam Workshop and share with the rest of the Rock Band 4 PC community!
- Mouse and computer keyboard support for menu navigation
- All feature and content updates from the console game. Rock Band 4 on the PC will have all of the updates released prior to its launch, and will continue to be updated alongside the console versions moving forward.
