Harmonix has revealed that Rock Band 4 will not be coming to the PC. According to the team, the game won’t be coming to our platform due to the fear of licensed music piracy. As Harmonix noted, this is not similar to the well known software piracy excuse that every developer blames PC gamers. And to a degree, Harmonix is right.
As Harmonix told Eurogamer:
“We’re not concerned about software piracy on PC. We have and will release games for PC. In fact, last year we released A City Sleeps for PC, Mac, and Linux. As Daniel stated, the security in question is related to licensed music in the game. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have robust functionality in that area. It’s added security that’s handled by the platform holders.
In the case of more open platforms like PC, we’re responsible for that. It’s something we can build. It’s not off the table for the future, however we’re first focusing on delivering Rock Band 4 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this holiday.”
Harmonix has a point. Like it or not, that’s the truth and this is a game that relies heavily on its DLC. Releasing such a game on the PC may hurt its overall sales, as PC gamers will undoubtedly find a way to enjoy songs that were not purchased for it.
Moreover, a number of legal issues may arise due to the licensed music piracy that plagues the PC platform, meaning that music labels may ‘hurt’ or take advantage of such a thing. Keep in mind that not everyone is playing by the rules.
All in all, Harmonix has no plans releasing Rock Band 4 on the PC.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email