Guitar Hero World Tour: Definitive Edition

Submission 3,245

About

Guitar Hero World Tour: Definitive Edition, abbreviated to GHWTDE, is a mod for the 2009 video game Guitar Hero World Tour which, among other features, allows to replace default rockers with character models from a multitude of franchises, allowing to create amusing band setups. In August and September 2022, videos of such band setups performing various songs gained viral popularity on YouTube and other platforms.

History

On November 9th, 2021, a website for Guitar Hero World Tour: Definitive Edtion, a mod for the 2009 video game Guitar Hero World Tour, was launched.^[1]^[2] Among other features, the mod added an option for replacing default rockers with custom characters.

On January 12th, 2022, Guitar Hero YouTuber^[3] Acai posted a video highlighting the mod, showcasing custom models for Spider-Man, Master Chief, Sans, Wolverine, Lady Dimitrescu, Lightning McQueen and other characters. The video gained over 176,000 views in nine months.

Starting in March 2022, various modders, most notably MexicanPB, on Nexus Mods and other platforms uploaded various character models to be used in the game. For example, on February 28th, 2022, MexicanPB^[4] uploaded a Hatsune Miku model, downloaded over 1,000 times in seven months (shown below, left). On May 6th, 2022, MexcanPB^[5] added a Walter White model, downloaded over 1,700 times (shown below, right).

Features

In addition to custom character models, Guitar Hero Wolrd Tour: Definitive Edtion offers multiple other features, including:

Custom Gem Themes
Extra Practice Speeds
User Installed Content (characters, songs, etc.)
Instrument Selection

Additionally, the mod adds content from other Guitar Hero installments to the game.

Fandom and Use in Memes

The mod started gaining online notoriety in mid-August 2022 as Acai and other content creators streamed it and uploaded GHWTDE content to YouTube. For example, on August 10th, 2022, YouTube^[6] channel More Acai posted a "Nothing for Me Here" playthrough with Patrick Bateman, G-Man, Walter White and Sandy Cheeks models enabled, with the uploaded gaining over 69,000 views in one month. On August 26th, 2022, Acai uploaded^[7] a 22-minute video showcasing the mod that received over 185,000 views in three weeks (shown below, right).

Starting in early September 2022, the mod achieved recognition on Twitter as users shared more clips. For example, on September 6th, 2022, Twitter^[8] user @KingNurakami45 posted a video of Kazuma Kiryu, Jesse Pinkman, and Persona 5 Joker performing "Y.M.C.A." which received over 1.2 million views, 18,200 retweets and 91,100 likes (shown below).