Rocksmith Plus delayed as studio revisits core features

Rocksmith Plus won’t make the summer 2021 launch window developers originally hoped for, the studio announced on Tuesday. It’ll be using the extra time to work on several core features, using feedback from from a closed beta that took place in June and July.

Lead producer Arthur von Nagel didn’t characterize the news as a delay, however, saying Ubisoft San Francisco “didn’t set a hard date because we wanted the flexibility to react to feedback and to adjust release timelines to match.”

Von Nagel did not say when the game would now launch. The studio will be working on feedback in four areas — song library; audio inputs and note detection; progression and education; UI, search, and content discoverability.

With regard to the song library, “we’re committed to offering over 5,000 songs” at launch, Von Nagel wrote. The closed beta purposefully had a selection of about 500 songs. He went into greater detail about the other three development areas in a message to the community.

“We understand that this delay is disappointing,” Von Nagel wrote. “Every Rocksmith Plus player deserves to easily find the music you care about, to feel a sense of growth and mastery over your instrument, and to trust that the notes you play are heard fairly and accurately.”

Rocksmith Plus was announced in June during E3 2021. The guitar-teaching sim is scheduled to launch on Windows PC first, followed by launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Following that, Rocksmith Plus will come to Android and iOS devices, too.

Rocksmith Plus will be a subscription-based service, with Ubisoft offering $14.99, $39.99, and $99.99 plans for monthly, three months, and annual subscriptions.