Performance Designed Products, not Mad Catz, will be Rock Band 4 and Rock Band VR’s co-publisher from now on. Mad Catz originally signed on with Harmonix to co-publish Rock Band 4 and produce a new set of plastic instruments for the game. However Mad Catz has had quite a bit of debt trouble and recently had a round of lay offs, leaving them struggling. Rock Band 4 didn’t live up to sales expectations but Harmonix seems ready to forge ahead without Mad Catz. Harmonix claims their new co-publisher will be making new instruments for a “major feature update.”
You may not know Performance Designed Products, aka PDP, by name, but you’ve probably seen their ‘Afterglow’ or ‘Rockcandy’ products on store shelves. A quick glance at their website shows products for both consoles and PC but nothing like the guitars and drums Mad Catz were making. Even if their products were up to par, PDP won’t have their version of Rock Band instruments on shelves until later this fall.
Clearly Harmonix is confident in Rock Band 4. New instruments, major updates, and a possible PC port all point towards a long term future for Rock Band 4. You can look through Harmonix’s FAQ/announcement right here.
