It's been rumored for weeks, but now, it's official: Rock Band is back.

Harmonix Music Systems, the developers of both the original Guitar Hero and Rock Band, are bringing the series back for next-generation consoles.

Don't worry, this isn't just a rehashing of the same games you played back on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360: if Harmonix can deliver on what it set out to do, then Rock Band 4 is going to be a completely new experience.

Right from the start, it's easy to see that Harmonix knows just how badly the music game genre died. There were just too many plastic instruments, too many different games to buy and too many tracks that weren't included on the disc for people to keep paying year after year. Harmonix understands that, and it's clear that the studio is taking steps to avoid a similar fate.

First and foremost: all of your old gear will work with Rock Band 4. Harmonix is currently working with both Microsoft and Sony to make sure the instruments will work on the newer consoles, but there will also be an entirely new set of instruments courtesy of Mad Catz.

Secondly, all of your old DLC songs will carry over. As long as you stick with the same brand - meaning that PlayStation 3 owners should stick with the PlayStation 4 version of the game - you'll be able to access each and every one of your downloaded tracks on Day One. Product manager Daniel Sussman confirmed that, while the work isn't done, everything should be up and ready at launch:

"The work is going really well. I'm confident that we'll get there. Players who have a good-sized library of DLC, it will show up day one and they'll have their songs."

Finally, Harmonix has confirmed that you won't have to worry about yearly releases crowding your living room. Rock Band 4 is meant to work as a platform on next-generation consoles, not just as a single release: Harmonix intends to support the game for years to come, not force players to buy new songs and instruments once a year.

If Rock Band 4 is successful, it could reignite the music gaming genre. That being said, the genre died a pretty horrible death a few years back: hopefully, it's been long enough since the last series of games were released, or Rock Band 4 could seriously backfire.

Rock Band 4 is scheduled for release sometime later this year.

Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page