After teasing something last month, PDP officially announced the Riffmaster, a new wireless guitar controller releasing this Spring.
The PDP Riffmaster has two configurations: one compatible with the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, while the other works on PS4 and PS5. As you can see from the images below, at first glance, it looks similar to plastic guitar controllers made at the height of Guitar Hero and Rock Band’s popularity. But a closer examination reveals some noticeable changes to the formula.
Most notably, the Riffmaster has a thumbstick behind the guitar, an ambidextrous design, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a promised battery life of 36 hours on a single charge. Riffmaster’s disassembly, meanwhile, is pretty unique. Instead of detaching the guitar body and the long neck to create a two-piece teardown, the Riffmaster uses a foldable design that makes it easy to travel or store.
One piece that can detach from the controller is the pickguard, which will likely come with many designs, allowing for some customization. It’s a nice touch, considering the way some Guitar Hero and Rock Band players put stickers on their controllers for personal flair.
PDP Riffmaster will be compatible with two games: Rock Band 4, which released its final DLC last week, and Fortnite Festival, once Harmonix releases an update that allows the game to support Rock Band guitar controllers. When the update does arrive, Fortnite Festival will significantly benefit from guitar controller support as this free-to-play rhythm game is controller and keyboard-only at the moment, making it feel odd to play.
“Fortnite Festival is just… Rock Band on a gamepad, and it’s a little like playing a light gun game on an analogue stick. Yeah, it works, but it doesn’t feel like quite the right way to play it,” my colleague Luke Reilly wrote in his review of Fortnite Festival, which he scored a 4/10.
PDP has not yet shared a price for the Riffmaster, but the controller will be released sometime this spring.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.