Guitar Hero developer Harmonix, MTV and Electronic Arts have announced Rock Band, an all-new platform for music fans.

Rock Band will allow gamers to perform music from the world’s biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band using drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, in addition to offering "deep online connectivity". Built on "unprecedented" deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and include many of the master recordings from the biggest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band is slated for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this Winter.

EMI Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music are allowing unprecedented access to their back catalogues for use in Rock Band. The record labels - EMI Music, Hollywood Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group's Universal Music Enterprises and Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment - have agreed to supply master recordings by their artists for use in the game.

“Harmonix was founded to create new ways for everyone to experience the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from playing music. Our work on Guitar Hero was an instrumental step toward that goal,” stated Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. “But Rock Band is Harmonix’s most ambitious project to date, and it will take music gameplay to an entirely new level. MTV has given us the freedom and the resources to really swing for the fences and make the game we’ve always wanted to make.”

“Our vision for Rock Band is to completely change the way people interact with and enjoy the music they love,” said Jeff Yapp, EVP, MTV Program Enterprises. “By joining forces with EA and the music industry’s largest record labels and publishers, we are striving to create a groundbreaking new platform that allows people to connect with their favourite music and artists in ways they never have before.”

As previously announced, Electronic Arts will serve as the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game in US, Europe and Australasia.

For more information, visit rockbandgame.com.