I couldn't be more excited for PDP's new Guitar Hero-like PS5 controller

It's been a big week for controller brand PDP. Not only did its Victrix Pro BFG Xbox Series X gamepad get a February release window, but the brand has also just revealed that it'll be making the very first guitar controller for PS5 and Xbox Series X. 

That's right - if you've been at all nostalgic for the bygone era of heading to a friend's house to jam out together on Guitar Hero or Rockband, it's time to get excited about reliving those days. Fortnite Festival launched in December of 2023, adding to the ever-expanding Fortnite-verse, and it looks as though it'll introduce some exciting additions to our best PS5 controller list.

PDP's new controller, called the RIFFMASTER Wireless Guitar, is a Guitar Hero-like accessory that officially works with Rock Band 4, but has "anticipated compatibility" with Fortnite Festival when controller support is added. Hilariously, Rock Band 4 is a 2015 game originally launched on PS4 and Xbox One in the same year as Guitar Hero Live, the last entry that franchise has seen.

Rock Band and Guitar Hero had some truly great peripherals, but PDP seems to have found ways to improve on them. For starters, it has a wireless connection and a battery life that lasts 36 hours - even most of the best PC controllers could never. 

It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a joystick on the guitar's neck to help you navigate in-game menus and console UI, and folds down at the base of the neck so you can take it on the go or store it away neatly.

If you're anything like me, you probably have a couple of Guitar Hero controllers sitting around that are nice to look at but are functionally useless because their USB dongles have gone missing. The new PDP RIFFMASTER has a slot under its removable faceplate to hold and protect your USB dongle. 

Annoyingly, the price and release date are to be determined, although we know it should hit the shelves at some point in the Spring. The fact it's officially licensed for both PS5 and as an Xbox Series X controller is no short of a miracle but isn't all that surprising when PDP managed the same feat for the Victrix Pro BFG, our top pick for PS5 which is available for pre-order on Xbox now. 

Honestly, I couldn't be more excited about this. In the last few days before this news broke, I was thinking of writing a retrospective feature all about why Guitar Hero Guitars are some of my favorite gaming controllers of all time. While that type of rhythm game has seemed dead in the water for years, Fortnite Festival and a new licensed controller may say otherwise. 

Will we see a revival of rock-based rhythm games? Could we get modern-day remasters of classics like Guitar Hero 3? Famously, this was a difficult genre for Activision to maintain, not least because paying for music licensing probably cost an arm and a leg.

Fortnite Festival does seem promising, especially seeing as Epic Games acquired the old developer of the Rockband games, Harmonic. With Microsoft finally completing its purchase of Activision Blizzard, however, might this be an exciting new dawn for both franchises?

Looking for more situational controllers to use in simulation games? Grab the best joysticks, the best racing wheels for PC, and the best Xbox steering wheels.