Rock fans unite! Activision has announced that Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero will launch this autumn.

Band Hero is said to be a more family-friendly entry into the franchise “designed to expand the experience to a new genre.” The game will “deliver an exciting music collection featuring top-40 hits” and make use of the guitar, drums, bass and microphone accessories released for Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Details on Guitar Hero 5, however are much more scarce, with Activision only going so far as to say that the game will include “the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly.” No formats were mentioned by the publisher either.

“Guitar Hero has made music social again and has become one of the most popular ways to experience music,” said Dan Rosensweig, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Guitar Hero franchise. “Today’s fans enjoy a variety of music and are looking for more ways to engage with their favourite songs, artists and fellow fans. These games will let them listen, participate and socialize with music in ways they have never been able to before.”

As well as revealing the new Hero titles, Activision also released the first renders of DJ Hero’s decks peripheral, which can be seen on the game’s Flickr account.

DJ Hero “expands Guitar Hero’s signature social gaming to all-new consumers,” says Activision, “with the addition of diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance.” The game launches on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii alongside Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero this autumn.

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