Activision ends Guitar Hero franchise

Activision has confirmed that it has officially killed off the Guitar Hero franchise as part of a series of culls and cancellations today.

According to an announcement, Activision blames a decline in in popularity of the music game genre for the cancellation of both the series as a whole and a planned title that was already in development.

'Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011,' says the official statement.

Lay-offs at Guitar Hero developer Vicarious Visions are rumoured, but not confirmed at the moment.

The move to cancel the series doesn't come as a big surprise, as Activision's Eric Hirshberg said last year that it was no secret that the genre was in decline following poor sales of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

'It's no secret that not just Guitar Hero, but also Rock Band, and the music category in general, do not have the same mass appeal today that they did a few years ago,' said Hirschberg.

Check our review of the most recent game, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, for more information on the series, then let us know your thoughts in the forums.