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Rock Band 4 to be co-published by peripheral maker Mad Catz

Mad Catz has announced it is to co-published Rock Band 4 alongside developer Harmonix.

Peripheral maker Mad Catz has revealed it will be jointly responsible for publishing the upcoming Rock Band 4 title.

Mad Catz will handle all global retail sales, promotion and distribution of the game and its associated hardware bundles. Meanwhile, Rock Band 4 developer Harmonix will handle all the downloadable sales and content for the game.

The idea is that Mad Catz will be creating a whole new range of Rock Band 4 instrument peripherals, including drums, guitar, bass and microphone.

“Mad Catz have a deep appreciation for the amazing work by Harmonix and we can’t wait to play our part in delivering Rock Band to passionate gamers everywhere,” explained Mad Catz spokesperson Alex Verrey on the Mad Catz website.

Related: Guitar Hero Live preview

“Co-publishing the game allows us to work closer than ever before with Harmonix, delivering a seamless experience from game through hardware and ensuring that we focus on the needs of the game first and foremost.”

As you can see from the images below, the new Rock Band 4 instruments are very similar to those released with the last entry in the Rock Band franchise – albeit perhaps a little better quality looking at the drums.

Plus, the guitar seems to have an extra set of coloured buttons lower down the fret bar, perhaps for those solo moments.

Mad Catz isn’t a stranger to game publishing but this is the highest profile partnership to date for the peripheral maker, which has become well-established thanks to products such as the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q 9 gaming headset.

“We’re excited to be working closely with Harmonix and I can promise you that as soon as you see the game for yourselves, you’ll also be excited as we are now. Roll on E3!” added Verrey.

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