《Stage Tour》将于2026年12月10日发售 支持有无外设两种玩法

Prior to the announcement of Stage Tour from RedOctane Games (which includes developers from the original RedOctane team, community members, former Neversoft and Harmonix devs, and others), the state of rhythm action games was pretty much dead on console, with Epic Games owning former Rock Band devs Harmonix, and Microsoft so far doing nothing with the Guitar Hero IP. So the opening was certainly there for someone to come in and fill the void left by the two former behemoths of the genre.

During Gamescom Opening Night Live Stage Tour revealed its release date trailer set to Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” which is one of 90 songs available on a launch setlist, which spans over six decades of licensed music. Undoubtedly, the music itself is of the upmost importance to any rhythm game, but equally as important is how you play out that music. And while the plastic instruments both new and old are available for the nostalgic 30-something’s, they are not required. The developers at RedOctane Games have really made Stage Tour appealing for anyone who just enjoys good tunes. Allowing for the game to be played with a controller and even with a PC keyboard as well. Thus truly making it about playing your way.

Stage Tour: Hardware or No Hardware, You Decide

Releasing on December 10, 2026, Stage Tour delivers a full experience regardless of how invested, or in my case, re-invested in the genre you’d like to become. The game can be purchased by itself for $39.99 (USD) on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and played completely by just using a regular controller on console or even a keyboard on PC. The controller even features two different gameplay styles with four and five lane button combinations allowing for players to play the best parts of any song without the need of an instrument. There’s even button and key remapping as well, granting players total customization on how they want to mash those notes.

However, for those who wish to relive their favorite plastic instrument memories, the entire breadth of that is also available. Stage Tour does offer a complete new line of instruments with the least expensive of the bundles coming in at $129 (USD) which includes the game and one guitar, then there’s a two guitar option for $199 (USD), an all-in-one bundle that’s $299 (USD) and features a wired microphone, drums, kick pad, and drumsticks, one guitar, and the game. Finally, there’s the all-in-one bundle with extras for $349 (USD) which includes everything in the aforementioned bundle, except the microphone is wireless, and it comes with an extra kick pedal for double bass on drums, and the three cymbal kit for the drums as well.

This doesn’t even account for the other extra guitars with one of them being modeled after the Les Paul and another on the old Explorer from Guitar Hero II. Shortly after launch those with electronic drum kits or e-kits at home can play using a MIDI adapter developed for the game. Stage Tour also supports legacy hardware from Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and forward, (with even older wired or wireless hardware available on PC.) You can check a hardware compatibility chart to see if what you have works or not. Consoles will not require a dongle to use the old instruments, but non-wired PC instruments will require a dongle.

What’s There Beyond the Songs?

Of course, most of what you’ll be doing in Stage Tour is playing the songs in the setlist in various ways, but similar to sports titles, what can set these apart are the modes and unlockables.

As you’d expect there’s the typical quickplay mode where you pick the song or a list of songs and play them. Practice mode that’s for practicing getting better at the songs. There’s a karaoke mode for the vocalists out there. The main mode in Stage Tour is the “Tour Mode.” But unlike the tour modes of the past, this one promises a unique experience each time out because it is a Roguelite. So each run will have its own songs and challenges instead of just being the same set of songs built around that specific stage. The developers promise a deep dive on Tour Mode at some point prior to launch, but they did hint at getting to choose a loadout with items and unlockables.

Throughout tour mode players will visit various stages as they rise up the ranks, and as the band gains popularity the stages would ideally become grander. As is typical in these games, you’ll have to select an avatar for yourself and in Stage Tour there are 50 bandmates in total to unlock. Each one has their own skins and attire too. But perhaps the coolest of the unlockables is the over 180 historic guitars from Gibson, Kramer, and Epiphone that can all be viewed in a garage when not on stage.

Is there Anything for Stage Tour Post-Launch?

The other element that makes Stage Tour different from its predecessors is that it is launching as a platform and not a numbered game or part of a greater series. So the idea is to continually keep adding to the game post-launch with more modes, DLC songs, and perhaps even instruments? So it looks like the team wants to continually reward those who decide to invest early by not just providing more music to play, but more ways to play it too. Thus continually getting to improve on the foundation of what is already there.

Looking Forward to December

As someone who still straps in a plastic guitar every few weeks to play some songs with my teenage daughter, it saddens me to see what’s happened to the games that made me fall in love with the genre, almost 20 years ago now, when Rock Band first released in 2007. And while Epic technically still has the basics of that in Fortnite Festival, and the likes of Clone Hero offers quite a lot of the original experience, but it is sadly relegated to PC.

The thing that gives me hope in Stage Tour is that not only does the development team understand what made those games great, but there are not under any illusion or pressure that they have to lead the charge for a revival of the genre in order to be considered a success like a new Guitar Hero or Rock Band game would be. Can they just plant a flag and let gamers know they exist, while slowly gaining players as they flesh out the platform further. Their approach of being on everything and allowing players to “play your way” with instruments, or without, is a solid one. Setting them up for anyone to be able to pick up the game and enjoy it immediately. Then they can invest further depending on how much they actually like the game. Throw in a tour mode that promises to be something different during each playthrough and Stage Tour certainly has a chance be a hit when it releases on December 10, 2026.