Guitar Hero Live leak reveals DJ Hero developer FreeStyleGames and first person perspective

Activision are set to announce a revival of the Guitar Hero franchise, and with some drastic changes. According to a report from French newspaper LeMonde (via Yahoo), the new game will be called Guitar Hero Live, played from a first person perspective and drop the coloured frets synonymous with the series.

Their report also reveals that the game will be developed by FreeStyleGames, the team behind the DJ Hero spin-off series, and will be officially announced later today (14 April).

Replacing the coloured frets will be "six black and white notes, divided into two rows" on a redesigned Guitar peripheral says the report, which also quotes FreeStyleGames' Dan Green as saying his team wants players to feel more like playing an actual guitar with their hands.

Rhythm action games are making a comeback this year, with Harmonix revealing Rock Band 4 in March. The studio – which created Guitar Hero before splitting from publishers Activision – are planning on making Rock Band a platform on new-gen consoles, with players purchasing new songs and other content rather than them producing a succession of sequels in the years to come.

It is not yet clear what Activision's grander plan for the Guitar Hero series is, or how exactly the gameplay changes above will work in action – but it appears we'll know more by the end of the day should an official announcement be made.