Editing Harmonix (section)

=== As an independent developer ===
Approximately 6 to 9 months after its sale from Viacom, Harmonix started to grow again, boosted by sales of ''Dance Central'' which led to the development of its sequel ''[[Dance Central 2]]'' in late 2011.<ref name="gamasutra reinventing">{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/interview-reinventing-harmonix | title = Interview: Reinventing Harmonix | first = Kris | last = Graft | date = 16 August 2011 | access-date = 17 August 2011 | website = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> By mid-2011, the company began developing new IP in both the mobile and social game markets, and began rehiring to aid in the development of these games.<ref name="gamasutra reinventing"/> Continued support of the ''Rock Band'' franchise has remained a "meaningful source of profitability" to Harmonix through 2011, according to Rigopulos.<ref name="gamasutra reinventing"/> [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] then projected that Harmonix would post $100 million in profit in 2011, based on sales of ''Dance Central'' and continued downloadable content for the game.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-02/harmonix-rebounds-with-dance-central-bets-on-music-downloads.html | title = Harmonix Rebounds With Dance Central, Bets on Music Downloads | first = Alexandra | last = Dean | date= 2 November 2011 | access-date= 2 November 2011 | publisher = [[Bloomberg L.P.]] }}</ref>

At the onset of the 2013 E3 conference, Harmonix announced that its next title would be the Kinect-enabled ''[[Fantasia: Music Evolved]]'' produced in association with [[Disney Interactive]]. The game is based around the animated film ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', and puts the player in control of music in a manner similar to Harmonix' previous rhythm games, affecting the virtual environment and interactive objects within it. The game is based on licensed contemporary rock music such as [[Queen (band)|Queen]] and [[Bruno Mars]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2013/06/04/harmonix-fantasia-video-game/2384195/ | title = Music, movement are new realms for classic 'Fantasia' | first = Mike | last = Snider | date = 4 June 2013 | access-date = 4 June 2013 | work = [[USA Today]] }}</ref>

In February 2014, Harmonix announced a new title, ''Chroma'', co-developed with [[Hidden Path Entertainment]], which combines their music genre experience with [[first-person shooter]]s. The players' actions are timed to the music in the game, influencing their effect with certain actions like gunfire, grenade explosions, and team healing. ''Chroma'' was planned for release in late 2014 on [[Microsoft Windows]] systems via [[Steam (service)|Steam]].<ref>{{Cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/gamelife/2014/02/harmonix-chroma/ | title = Rock Band Maker's Next Game Is a Musical First-Person Shooter | first = Chris | last = Kohler | date = 17 February 2014 | access-date = 17 February 2014 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] }}</ref>

In May 2014, along with about 37 layoffs, Alex Rigopulos stepped aside from CEO to become the company's chief creative officer, while Steve Janiak would take over as CEO.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2014/05/29/harmonix-lays-off-37-and-replaces-ceo/ | title = Harmonix lays off 37 and replaces CEO | first = Jeffrey | last = Grubb | publisher = [[Venture Beat]] | date =29 May 2014 | access-date = 29 May 2014 }}</ref>

In March 2015, Harmonix announced their plan to return to ''Rock Band'' with the next major title in the series, ''Rock Band 4''. The new title, aimed to support backwards compatibility with all previous songs and instrument hardware, was aimed to be more of a platform for the [[Eighth generation of video game consoles|eighth-generation consoles]], the [[PlayStation 4]] and [[Xbox One]], as they have no plans to release another standalone title during this console generation but would continually provide free and paid features and content updates throughout its lifetime.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc0RECohAZ0 | title = Rock Band 4: Behind the Scenes With Harmonix | website = [[YouTube]] | date = 5 March 2015 | access-date = 8 March 2015 }}</ref> Harmonix had $15 million in investor funding from [[Spark Capital]] and [[Foundry Group]] to support ''Rock Band 4'', ''Amplitude'' and additional projects going forward including [[virtual reality]]-based games.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/harmonix-nets-15-million-investment-ahead-of-i-rock-band-4-i-release | title = Harmonix nets $15 million investment ahead of Rock Band 4 release | first = Alex | last = Wawro | date = 8 September 2015 | access-date = 8 September 2015 | website = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2015/10/5/9454919/with-the-release-of-rock-band-4-harmonix-reveals-source-of-investment | title = With the release of Rock Band 4, Harmonix reveals source of investment | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = 5 October 2015 | access-date = 5 October 2015 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref>

In September 2015, Rigopulos announced that he would go to the advisory board for the [[crowdfunding]] site [[Fig (company)|Fig]], through which Harmonix would obtain funding for its next, yet-announced game.<ref name="polygon harmonix">{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2015/9/3/9255295/harmonix-crowdfunding-fig-rock-band-4 | title = Harmonix partners with crowdfunding site Fig, takes seat on advisory board | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = 3 September 2015 | access-date = 3 September 2015 | website = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref> On 1 March 2016, Harmonix confirmed that the campaign was indeed to raise funds to port ''Rock Band 4'' to the PC, but gamers would only have until 5 April to pledge US$1.5 million to make it happen.<ref name="rb4 pc">{{cite web | url = https://www.fig.co/campaigns/rock-band-4-pc | title = Rock Band 4 for PC + Rock Band Network | date = 5 March 2015 | access-date = 5 March 2015 }}</ref> The campaign was unsuccessful raising a total of $792,817.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

On 20 March 2017, Harmonix released Rock Band VR, a virtual reality based Rock Band game, onto Oculus Rift, with Oculus Studio assuming the publishing role.

Harmonix and [[NCSoft]] announced a publishing deal in August 2018 for an unspecified title developed by Harmonix and published by NCSoft across personal computers and console systems.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/harmonix-signs-multiplatform-publishing-deal-with-ncsoft | title = Harmonix signs multiplatform publishing deal with NCSoft | first =Chris | last = Kerr |date = August 2, 2018 | access-date = August 2, 2018 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> This was revealed in February 2020 as ''[[Fuser (video game)|Fuser]]'', a DJ-inspired title to be released for Microsoft Windows, [[PlayStation 4]], [[Xbox One]] and [[Nintendo Switch]] in late 2020. Players, as a DJ, interactively mix tracks of popular licensed songs alongside specific rules as they appear on screen.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.usgamer.net/articles/fuser-isnt-harmonixs-dj-hero-and-it-wont-need-a-plastic-turntable-either | title = Fuser Isn't Harmonix's DJ Hero, and It Won't Need a Plastic Turntable Either | first = Matthew | last = Olsen | date = February 26, 2020 | access-date = February 26, 2020 | work = [[USGamer]] | archive-date = 26 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200226142812/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/fuser-isnt-harmonixs-dj-hero-and-it-wont-need-a-plastic-turntable-either | url-status = dead }}</ref>