Plenty of game projects never see an official release, but this canceled Guitar Hero MMO sounds so crazy that it might have actually worked.
As detailed by video game historian Liam Robertson in a new video, DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games pitched Activision on the idea of a broswer-based MMO that would tie together the entire Hero franchise, including DJ Hero and Guitar Hero.
The game would go on to be called Hero World, but the only problem was that Freestyle Games wasn't exactly in a position to develop it. That task instead fell to Virtual Fairground, a Dutch developer with a history of crafting Facebook games. Using the same engine from a previous game, Virtual Fairground concocted a club management sim where players sought to make the best club in the city. Players could fully customize their avatar as well as their venue. There was even to be an "adventure game style" storyline in which players had to push out a rival faction by defeating them in rhythm-based dance battles.
None of that sounds particularly ambitious, but the real hook of the Hero World was to be how it would interact with the mainstream console titles like Guitar Hero. Those in Hero World could book players of DJ Hero and Guitar Hero to perform for their venue. Doing so would earn Hero World players more in-game revenue to purchase new items, while those playing on the console games would also be rewarded with in-game currency for their respective games as well as Hero World.
According to the video, Virtual Fairgrounds was big on the idea of the experience being completely cross-platform, meaning that those playing Hero World on PC would be able to interact with console game players on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo platforms. Development on the game was moving along nicely toward a 2011 release, but it was around that same time that Activision pulled the plug on the entire Hero franchise. Hero World got the axe, and soon after, Virtual Fairgrounds went bankrupt.
Even though it never saw the light of day, it definitely sounds like it could have worked. Visually, the game matched that of the other Hero games, and the idea of hiring real people to perform at the in-game venues of players sounds like a unique idea that would have drawn plenty of attention to the title. You can check out the full rundown of the canceled project below.
