Five-Fret Gaming Had A Major Presence At PAX East

As per usual, PAX East had a little bit of everything on display. Booths featured demos for all sorts of upcoming games, from “Halloween” and “Bubsy 4D” to “Rain98” and more. However, one of the busiest booths was the CRKD booth, which featured 2007’s “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” a game that’s nearly 20 years old.

If you’re not hip to the scene, CRKD specializes in making video game accessories like controllers and the like. This year at PAX, they showed off products like the Nitro Deck 2, a unique Switch/Switch 2 dock that makes it feel more like a Steam Deck with a beefier profile and cozier thumbsticks, as well as the new Atom+ controller, a tiny bluetooth gamepad that is surprisingly comfortable to use, given its tiny profile. Last year, CRKD started releasing new Five-Fret guitar controllers for use in classic “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” games, as well as fan-made facsimiles like “Clone Hero” and “YARG,” which have developed cult followings of their own. But these guitars were just the beginning.

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CRKD guitars will also be compatible with the upcoming title from Red Octane Games, “Stage Tour,” a brand new Five-Fret music game that aims to pick up right where “Rock Band 4” left off, bringing music to video games while allowing players to feel like rock stars while testing their dexterity with the uniquely perfect Five-Fret gameplay formula introduced in 2005’s “Guitar Hero.” Alas, “Stage Tour” wasn’t quite ready for PAX East, which is why they had “Guitar Hero III” instead. Across all four days of the convention, there was always a line of players looking to play, either with a partner or against A Wise Moose and Acai, world-class Five-Fret players and co-hosts of the Lore Hero podcast who are also working on “Stage Tour” with Red Octane Games.

I had the opportunity to speak to CRKD’s Global Brand Manager, Jack Guinchard, who said, “It always comes back to the community that kept the genre alive, but also the passion and the need for something new and refreshing for the modern era.” Five-Fret gameplay is such a perfect and unique beast, there’s nothing else like it, and that keeps players coming back. “You’ve got the older generation playing for nostalgia. Then you’ve got younger fans that are experiencing it for the first time. But then you’ve got everyone in between, from hardcore pros who have been playing for years, but also people who have played a long time that are still casual, you know what I mean?” The launch of “Fortnite Festival” proved there was still life in the Five-Fret genre, but it was just a hint of what’s coming in the near future: Of the genre, Guinchard remarked, “it’s primed for a crazy comeback. And who better to come back into the space than Red Octane Games, a new studio formed from some veterans, passionate community folks, new developers, all working together towards creating this rhythm game that people want from the modern era.” If the name “Red Octane” sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the company that made every “Guitar Hero” controller from the 2005 original all the way through to 2010’s “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.” Now, CRKD is handling the guitars, while the newly-formed Red Octane Games is hard at work on “Stage Tour.” Unfortunately, Guinchard (nor Acai or Moose) could share any details about “Stage Tour,” but its time will come soon enough.

Hyperkin and the DraKong InfiniKore

But CRKD and classic “Guitar Hero” wasn’t the only Five-Fret presence at PAX East. Far from it. Further back in the expo center was the Hyperkin booth, which featured the DraKong InfiniKore Telecaster guitar controller connected to a “Rock Band 4” kiosk and a “Clone Hero” setup. DraKong is the new line of premium Hyperkin products, and the InfiniKore is their attempt to break into the Five-Fret guitar space. While the CRKD guitars are already out and have been iterated upon multiple times, the InfiniKore still has yet to release its “1.0” version, and the model I played on at the Hyperkin booth was still a work-in-progress test unit, so I can’t quite judge it the way I can judge the CRKD guitars (I own two of them, if that’s any indication of my feelings towards them!).

Even so, there are some great ideas at play with the InfiniKore, such as the mix of “Guitar Hero”-style main frets and “Rock Band”‘-style solo frets, as well as the d-pad being placed between the two sets of frets, allowing for easier tapping during hardcore solos. It also boasts a completely modular design, allowing players to swap different parts in and out, allowing for maximum versatility in terms of functionality and aesthetics. I got to play using a version of the strum bar that features a protruding guitar pick, a unique take on the traditional strum bar. It took a bit of getting used to, but it felt natural after a couple of songs.

Time will tell if the DraKong InfiniKore can compete with the CRKD guitar, but in terms of sales, DraKong’s Chief Technology Officer, Slade Suzuki, stresses that it doesn’t have to: “When it comes to controllers and other stuff, we do have competition, let’s say like CRKD. But when it comes to the rhythm gaming scene, we don’t really see CRKD or Turtle Beach as a competition per se, because we’re just glad to be part of the revival of the scene. And so the more options, the better. If you like the CRKD guitar, get the CRKD guitar. If you like the Riffmaster, get the Riffmaster.” All in all, DraKong is something of a smaller operation than the likes of CRKD and other Five-Fret guitar manufacturers, but that hasn’t kept them from aiming to make one heck of a rhythm gaming controller. When it comes to Five-Fret guitar controllers, rhythm game enthusiasts can’t get enough. While everyone has their ‘weapon of choice,’ so to speak, we’re open to trying new things and see how they shake out. If the InfiniKore feels good when it comes out, its modular design may lead to it being the ‘one guitar to rule them all,’ adaptable to anyone’s style and preferences.

CRKD and Hyperkin were both represented at PAX East, but there was still more Five-Fret action to be had. Off of the main expo space, up on the second floor, was a full band “Rock Band 2” setup next to a dining area. Even though I wasn’t feeling well on Day 3 of the expo (as it turns out, I didn’t realize I was suffering from diverticulitis and, the next day, would begin a week-long stay in the hospital and multiple weeks of bed-ridden recovery), I knew I had to flex my rock-and-roll muscles. While I wasn’t quite up to singing, I played bass on “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac and drums on “Colony of Birchmen” by Mastodon. The guitar/bass controllers worked just fine, but I was particularly excited to try the drums, since they had an ION Drum Rocker, a kit I’d always wanted to use. Unfortunately, this particular kit had seen better days, and didn’t work properly, and I’m not just saying that because I only scored 80% on the song. Nevertheless, there’s nothing quite like showing off in front of a live audience, whether you’re playing a video game, music, or a Five-Fret rock simulator, which combines elements of both.

All of this is to say, PAX East is proof-positive that Five-Fret gaming is back. When the PDP Riffmaster guitar controller launched more-or-less alongside Fortnite Festival, fans wondered if it was a one-off phenomenon, a final mercy for genre fans who wanted new hardware to continue playing their old games. However, with the CRKD guitars, the upcoming DraKong InfiniKore, and games like “Stage Tour” and “Sound System,” it’s clear that there’s still life in the genre. Throughout my entire time at PAX East, there were always people waiting to play “Guitar Hero III” at the CRKD booth, “Rock Band 4” at the Hyperkin booth, and “Rock Band 2” up in the dining area. Will this all translate into mainstream success for “Stage Tour,” “Sound System,” and potential other Five-Fret games? It’s too early to say. It’s hard to imagine that the genre will ever recapture the success of its early years (“Guitar Hero III” was the first game to gross a billion dollars in revenue), but if the games shake out to be worthy of their pedigree, then Five-Fret fanatics will experience a true resurgence of their favorite genre.

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 12:29 PM.