According to a new Ubisoft blog, the original Rocksmith will be delisted at the start of next week, making it unavailable for purchase. You’ll no longer be able to purchase the game from Steam, the Xbox Marketplace, or the PlayStation Store. This news comes less than a month after the publisher announced a delay of its new service Rocksmith+ to sometime in 2022.
Initially released in 2011, Rocksmith has been a tool to teach people how to play the guitar and bass using the real deal instruments, a neat alternative from products like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Those looking to start learning from this specific release of Rocksmith will have to purchase by October 17. Here’s Ubisoft’s announcement of the delisting:
“One of the unique aspects of the Rocksmith method has been the ability to learn and play along to official master recordings of your favorite songs. But as of October 17, 2021, Rocksmith (2011) will no longer be available for purchase on any digital storefronts. Shortly after that, Rocksmith (2011) DLC will begin to be removed as well.”
The DLC songs mentioned (and any song packs containing these songs will start to become unavailable in November, however exact dates have not been determined yet. These are the songs that will be delisted next month (Xbox 360 DLC will delist sooner on October 17):
- · Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Free Bird”
- · Radiohead – “Bodysnatchers”
- · The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
- · Boston – “More Than a Feeling”
- · Deep Purple – “Smoke on the Water”
- · The Allman Brothers Band – “Jessica”
- · T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
- · Three Days Grace – “I Hate Everything About You”
- · Vampire Weekend – “Cousins”
To be clear, if you own any of this content, Rocksmith (2011), or the DLC songs above, you can keep playing and learning with the game after the delisting date. You’re also able to redownload the products as long as they are in your purchase history or library. And this delisting only affects the initial release of Rocksmith. Subsequent editions like 2014’s Rocksmith Remastered are still available, and your content from Rocksmith (2011) is importable.
The delisting coincides with the tenth anniversary of Rocksmith, which launched on October 18, 2011. If your math is as spot-on as mine, you can probably determine Ubisoft had licensing agreements set to last a decade, and time was up on the inclusions in the base product. Whether my assumption is correct doesn’t change that we’re losing the availability of this early version of Rocksmith. Those interested in seeing the evolution of the series, version by version, won’t be able to pick this one up digitally after Sunday. Even those who have a disc copy of Rocksmith will have to register it before the October 17 deadline.
Rocksmith isn’t the only game being delisted over the course of this week. Rockstar has also announced that in advance of the release of its Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, all existing versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas are being pulled from digital marketplaces.
Are you still using the OG edition of Rocksmith? How does this affect your learning to play the guitar? Do you have concerns about how games like this will be preserved in the future? Let us know in the comments!
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