'Rock Band 4' not coming out this year

A Harmonix representative has stated that there are no plans to release a sequel to the critically acclaimed music game Rock Band 3 in 2011.

In an interview with Game Informer, executive Chris Rigopulos said that this is in large part due to Rock Band's diverse downloadable content library and the flexibility the platform provides.

"DLC is the most efficient way to satisfy this demand," explained Rigopulos. "We can put 83 great songs on the Rock Band 3 disc, but nobody loves the entire soundtrack.

"A large, diverse DLC library allows people to customise their music content in the game to suit their individual preferences. You can't achieve that efficiently with frequent retail disc releases."

He continued: "A big part of what we do is work closely with the artist community to understand their objectives and priorities, and coordinate our DLC releases accordingly. The digital platform gives us the schedule flexibility to pull that off.

"For all of these reasons, we're not planning a Rock Band 4 disc release in 2011... But rest assured that Harmonix is still developing new ideas and concepts to advance the Rock Band franchise, and we look forward to sharing those when the time is right."

Rigopulos also announced that new downloadable tracks from the Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga and Ozzy Osbourne will be launched in May, though he didn't specify which songs by the artists.

"The Foo Fighters continue to add to their legacy with the release of their new album Wasting Light," he said. "On May 10, we'll release a pack of their music, as well as two Pro Guitar/Bass upgrades to songs from the Rock Band catalogue.

"We will have all the details on Ozzy, Lady Gaga and more coming soon."

Rigopulos added: "I should mention that tucked in among these amazing May releases is a classic Peter Frampton track - "Do You Feel Like We Do" from Frampton Comes Alive. It's this epic 13-minute jam with some blistering keys, brilliant guitar playing, and of course, the signature talk-box guitar effect."

Elsewhere in the interview, the Harmonix employee mentioned that more than 100 million songs have been purchased and downloaded in total, which he called a "significant milestone".

Late last year, Harmonix revealed that they have become an independent studio after previous owner Viacom put the company up for sale.