Strategy Informer  

Rock Band developer Harmonix has been sold by former parent company Viacom for around the price of one of its games; a scamp $49.99.

Apparently the $175 million it cost to buy will be almost reaped back through tax incentives instead. Investment group Columbus Nova ponied up the cash.

This super fire sale also included assuming the studio's liabilities which are music rights fees and dealing with all that unsold videogame and peripheral merchandise. It's obviously not a comforting notion to the surviving staff at Harmonix that their lively hood is worth $50. Neither Columbus Nova or Viacom would confirm the details of the sale.

Rock Band 3, while scoring high critically, hasn't been setting any charts aflame with sales. Harmonix believed they'd be picking up the slack from Activision's latest Guitar Hero after it suffered very low opening week numbers - no such luck.

The peripheral laden music genre just isn't the 'hot thing' anymore. Harmonix pledge "continued support" for Rock Band and their new Dance Central. The studio is working on "some unannounced projects that we think you’re going to be pumped about.”

Source: All Things Digital

Related games: Rock Band (PS3), Rock Band (Xbox360), Rock Band 2 (Xbox360), Rock Band 2 (PS3), Rock Band 3 (Xbox360), Rock Band 3 (PS3), Rock Band: The Beatles (Xbox360), Rock Band: The Beatles (PS3), Dance Central (Xbox360)