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Red Octane is no more

by: Jeremy -
More On: Guitar Hero 2 Guitar Hero Guitar Hero 3
 ...and the casualties start piling up.  Activision was quoted recently as saying that it was their intent to reduce the number of Guitar Hero related skus in the 2010 fiscal year... the process has officially begun.  In a move originally reported by KotakuActivision has closed the doors on the franchise's original publisher Red Octane.  Red Octane was also responsible for the creation of the franchise's instruments.  They won't be any more though; the studio was closed completely and many of the staff laid off.  The remaining staff members now report directly to Activision.  It is a little shocking to me that the original publishing outlet of the Guitar Hero franchise was let go this early.  I thought that the Red Octane brand, particularly for their contributions on the peripheral side of things, would be one of the outlets that would make it through the "housecleaning" that Activision has elected to pursue.  The year is shaping up to be an interesting one for Activision, with their new directive and goals... it makes you wonder why they are still sticking with the Tony Hawk series through all of this...