Guitar Hero Live: no subscription required for Guitar Hero TV
Guitar Hero Live's new streaming music service is free, although you can buy specific tracks if you fancy them.
Guitar Hero Live is on show at E3 2015, giving press the chance to find out exactly what is going on with the new Guitar Hero TV feature Activision is so excited about.
To catch you up, Guitar Hero Live ships with a core set of music, which you can supplement through Guitar Hero TV - a streaming music service that constantly feeds you new music.
Polygon has clarified a few details of the service, and confirmed that it does not require a subscription fee; if you've bought the base game, access to Guitar Hero TV is free.
Guitar Hero TV presents various "shows" with themes like Rock vs. Metal and Top 20 Hits. These shows air at specified times on various "channels", and there's a seven-day schedule - like a TV guide - so you know when to tune in. During these shows you'll be match made with other players around the world who have also opted in.
Sometimes Guitar Hero TV will offer "Premium Shows", which are limited time challenges only available to those who meet the prerequisites - or buy in with real money.
If you'd rather play specific songs from the Guitar Hero TV library, you can pick them from the library - but it'll cost you. In-game currency can be used to rent a track for one play, but you'll need to pony up real cash to purchase a track for good. It sounds like in-game currency will be pretty easy to come by, so you can presumably just keep renting - although there are also lots of other things to spend it on.
Here's an important caveat: even if you buy a track with real money, you can't download it and play it offline. There's no "DLC" because it's all cloud based.
Happily, there's also an all-access, limited time pass if you just want to unlock the whole library for a few hours. So that's nice.
Hit the source link above for many more details and comments from developer Freestyle Games on the thinking behind the service. The stuff about Status is particularly interesting, as I'm sure it's going to lure a bunch of players into participating in the economy who might otherwise stick to free content.
Guitar Hero Live is expected on PlayStation 3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in October.