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Press release:
1st of October 2026, Finland – Twenty years ago people learned to shred in Guitar Hero. Many of the guitar parts they played were recorded by one guitarist, Marcus Henderson. Now he and the team at Echo Foundry Interactive have made a new rhythm game. Sound System comes to Steam Early Access on 4 November 2026.

Sound System works with the guitar controllers people already own. A normal controller and a keyboard work too. Play guitar, bass, or take the vocals. Hit the notes to build combos and multipliers. Use the whammy bar when the solo needs it.

Anyone can pick up the guitar and play. There are four difficulty levels from Easy to Legendary.
Classic mode has no fail. Your friend who never played still gets to the end of the song. Pro mode is for the ones who think they are good. It only lets you miss so many notes.
Up to three players can play on the same PC with split screen. Play together as a band or go head to head and settle who is the real guitar hero of the house.

“We are hoping that Sound System will bring families together again as they did 20 years ago,” says Lennon Lange, co-founder of Echo Foundry Interactive.

Make your own charts
PulseMap is the chart editor inside the game. Make your own note charts for the songs. PulseMap uses the same .chart format as Clone Hero. You can also change the backgrounds and the video that plays behind the band.

What comes during Early Access
Early Access is planned to last about six months. Next, the studio opens music uploads, so you can play your own music collection. Online multiplayer for up to three players comes with the full release. The Early Access price is lower than the full price. The price goes up as new content comes in.

Sound System in short

Steam Early Access on 4 November 2026

Guitar, bass and vocals

Works with guitar controllers you already own, a normal controller, and a keyboard

Up to 3 players on one PC, co-op or head-to-head

Four difficulty levels, Classic mode with no fail and Pro mode

PulseMap chart editor

About six months in Early Access

Online multiplayer comes with the full release

About Echo Foundry Interactive
Echo Foundry Interactive is an independent game studio in California. Marcus Henderson and Lennon Lange founded it. Marcus recorded the guitar tracks for more than 40 songs in the Guitar Hero games. Lennon was an associate producer at RedOctane, the company that published the first Guitar Hero. The rest of the team has worked on Guitar Hero, Rock Band and DJ Hero.

About Bonus Stage Publishing
Bonus Stage Publishing is Finland’s biggest and oldest video game publisher. We publish games that real hobby communities want: snowmobiles, disc golf, fishing, sword fights and now plastic guitars. More than 20 games on PC and console so far.