It’s hard to believe that nearly 20 years have passed since a band of dreamers first introduced Guitar Hero®to the world in 2005.
Our home at the time, Red Octane®, in collaboration with the incredibly talented team at Harmonix®, brought this dream to life. But today, we want to focus on something close to our hearts—the hardware team that was built at Red Octane, the team that made those guitar controllers feel like an extension of the player’s hands.
[Stephen and Jared in the thick of pre production in 2007]
From day one until the final note of Guitar Hero Live, our team poured their passion and expertise into creating every guitar controller.
We designed & produced each one, ensuring the experience was authentic and immersive. Even after the Guitar Hero spotlight dimmed, the team remained intact, helping create amazing experiences such as Skylanders® , Hot Wheels®Rift Rally™ and many of the industry's connected experiences while most recently helping form and introduce “CRKD®” into the gaming world.
While CRKD is not Red Octane, the majority of the hardware team remains as the core product development team at CRKD, with a community focus on bringing premium, innovative, collectible gaming gear to fans around the world.
[Photo of the vault]
The rhythm never truly left us, and over the past few years, we've found ourselves drawn back to the genre—observing, thinking, and quietly reconnecting with the passion that sparked it all.
We’ve always known that the community has never stopped playing—whether it’s the original games or community creations. Projects like Clone Hero, YARG, and Fortnite Festival gave us the nudge we needed to realize that it’s time to get the band back together. The team has always been here, just under different names — butnow it’s time to get back to center stage!
[Cody and Chris on the pilot production line in 2007]
We want to help keep the authenticity and quality that made those controllers great back in the day, but also add some modern touches to make them even more robust and flexible for today’s players.
We’ve been paying close attention to the community of guitar modders out there, who buy broken controllers—sometimes nearly 20 years old—refurbish, and upgrade them. You’ve been keeping the spirit of the movement alive, and we want to honor that. The community is the real expert here; we’re listening, and we always have been.
So, what's next? Over the next six months, we'll be launching a small portfolio of rhythm gaming products, starting with the NEO S Purple Wave 5-Fret Edition compatible with Fortnite Festival. This handheld, portable controller with a custom 5-fret detachable attachment unlocks an entirely new way to experience Fortnite Festival—more immersive than a keyboard or a standard controller. A casual yet sleek way to enjoy diving into your favorite tunes and doubles up as a fully featured premium game controller.
That’s just the beginning... There’s more in store, but we’ll leave it at that for now while we fine tune things.
Many of you have already been part of our conversations over the past year, providing invaluable feedback and guidance. Now, as we step back into the world we helped shape, we do so with your voices in mind.
Per Fidem Ad Ludos Rhythmicos. (Through Faith to Rhythm Games)
