Key Highlights:
- Guitar Hero and DJ Hero veterans are behind RedOctane Games, giving Stage Tour some serious rhythm-game pedigree.
- Stage Tour launches December 10, 2026 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.
- More than 90 licensed songs will feature artists including Metallica, Paramore, Slipknot, Radiohead and The Cure.
The plastic guitar may finally be making its way back into living rooms.
RedOctane Games has confirmed that Stage Tour will launch on December 10, 2026, bringing a new rhythm-action experience from a studio founded by veterans behind games including Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. The release date was revealed around Gamescom Opening Night Live alongside a new look at the game, its expanding soundtrack and official instrument hardware.
Stage Tour will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2, with more than 90 officially licensed songs planned for launch.
RedOctane is promising a launch setlist spanning six decades, with a mixture of rock classics, modern artists and heavier tracks.
Confirmed artists include Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paramore, Slipknot, Muse, Olivia Rodrigo, Radiohead and The Cure, among others.
Some of the individual tracks already revealed include Psychosocial by Slipknot, For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic by Paramore, Just by Radiohead and Just Like Heaven by The Cure.
For anyone who remembers the era when a plastic guitar permanently occupied a corner of the living room, Guitar Hero and its full-band setup will need little introduction. Stage Tour is clearly leaning into that nostalgia.
Its biggest new addition is Tour Mode, a roguelite-inspired single-player mode where choices and challenges can change between runs. Players can build a band from more than 50 bandmates, while over 180 officially licensed Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer guitars can be collected in-game.
Perhaps more importantly, Stage Tour is bringing back the hardware.
Players can use Lead Guitar, Groove Guitar/Bass, drums and vocals, alongside keyboard and traditional gamepad support. Local multiplayer supports up to four players with instruments mixed however the group wants, while cross-platform online co-op and online leaderboards are also planned.
New official instrument controllers are being produced for the game, including a Kramer guitar controller, drum kit and microphones. RedOctane also says it intends to support as many existing modern instrument controllers as possible, including the Riffmaster, CRKD guitars and Rock Band 4 instruments on compatible platforms.
For those of us who lived through the original rhythm-game boom, there is something wonderfully ridiculous about the prospect of once again standing in front of a television holding a plastic guitar and taking a missed note far more personally than any reasonable adult should.
And this isn’t Guitar Hero returning under a different name. Stage Tour is its own game, but with RedOctane Games founded by developers with history across Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, the connection to that era is difficult to miss.
