Honestly, if you just dusted off that weird six-button plastic guitar and shoved the disc into your Xbox One, you’re probably in for a massive disappointment. You remember the hype, right? Hundreds of songs, a 24-hour music video channel, and the feeling of playing at a real festival.
Well, it’s 2026, and the reality of guitar hero live xbox one songs is... kinda grim.
Basically, the game was split into two worlds: GH Live (the on-disc career mode) and GHTV (the streaming service). Since Activision pulled the plug on the GHTV servers way back in late 2018, that entire second world vanished. We went from having access to over 500 tracks to being stuck with a measly 42. It’s like buying a mansion and finding out you’re only allowed to stand in the foyer.
What's Actually Left on the Disc?
If you’re playing on a stock Xbox One or Series X today, those 42 songs are your entire universe. There’s no DLC to buy. No hidden tracks to unlock via the internet. It’s just you and the "Live" sets.
The career mode is built around these "Live" performances where real crowds react to your playing. It’s cool, but it gets old fast when you realize you’re playing the same Fall Out Boy song for the tenth time. Here is the breakdown of what actually survived the Great Shutdown.
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The Modern Rock & Indie Selection
A huge chunk of the remaining tracklist leans heavily into that 2010s "stomp and holler" or indie-pop vibe. Think lots of vests and banjos.
- The Lumineers – "Ho Hey"
- Mumford & Sons – "I Will Wait"
- Of Monsters and Men – "Mountain Sound"
- The 1975 – "Girls"
- Arctic Monkeys – "R U Mine?"
The Pop-Punk and Emo Throwbacks
For those who grew up in the early 2000s, there are a few gems that actually make the six-button layout feel somewhat challenging.
- Blink-182 – "The Rock Show"
- Good Charlotte – "The Anthem"
- Fall Out Boy – "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark"
- Paramore – "Now"
- Pierce The Veil – "King for a Day" (This one is actually a blast on Expert).
The "Heavy" Stuff
Since this game was trying to be "modern," the heavy tracks are mostly 2010s metalcore or hard rock. You won’t find much Slayer here.
- Bring Me The Horizon – "Shadow Moses"
- Of Mice & Men – "Bones Exposed"
- Halestorm – "Love Bites (So Do I)"
- Soundgarden – "Been Away Too Long"
The Classics
Activision threw a few bones to the old-school fans, but it's a very short list.
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- The Rolling Stones – "Paint It Black"
- Queen – "Tie Your Mother Down"
- The Who – "Won’t Get Fooled Again"
The GHTV Tragedy
I really can't overstate how much better the game was when GHTV existed. That was where the real guitar hero live xbox one songs lived. We had Avenged Sevenfold, Judas Priest, Pantera, and even Skrillex. It worked like a playable MTV. You’d jump into a channel, a music video would start, and you’d just play along with whoever else was online.
When Activision shut down the servers on December 1, 2018, they didn't just stop adding songs; they deleted them. Because the GHTV songs were streamed rather than downloaded to your hard drive, they are simply gone from the Xbox ecosystem.
You might see "Premium Shows" or "On Demand" menus in your game. Ignore them. They’ll just give you a connection error. It's a digital graveyard.
Why the Six-Button Guitar is a Blessing and a Curse
The layout—three black buttons over three white buttons—was a bold move. It actually feels more like playing real guitar chords than the old five-button rainbow strips. On the 42 songs that are left, the charting is pretty clever.
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But here’s the kicker: that guitar is basically useless for anything else. You can't use it for Rock Band 4. You can't use it for the old Guitar Hero games. If you’re buying this in 2026, you are buying a piece of hardware for exactly 42 songs. That’s a tough pill to swallow for most people.
Is There Any Way to Get More Songs?
If you are strictly on Xbox One, the answer is a hard no. You are locked into that 42-song cage forever.
However, the community hasn't totally given up. If you have a decent PC, people are using a project called GHTV Reloaded. It's a fan-made server that actually resurrects the GHTV experience. It’s a bit of a process to set up—usually requiring an emulator like RPCS3 (for the PS3 version of the game)—but it’s the only way to see those hundreds of missing songs again.
There are also rumors about RedOctane (the original creators) working on a spiritual successor for 2026, but until that happens, the Xbox One version of Live is a time capsule with the lid glued shut.
Actionable Next Steps for Guitar Hero Fans
If you're itching to shred and the 42 songs on Guitar Hero Live aren't cutting it, here is what you should actually do:
- Switch to Rock Band 4: If you are on Xbox One or Series X, Rock Band 4 is still the king. You can still buy thousands of DLC songs, and the servers are actually alive.
- Get a Roll Limitless Adapter: If you have old 360 guitars, don't throw them away. This adapter lets you use them on modern consoles. It's way cheaper than buying a $300 "Legacy Adapter" on eBay.
- Check out Clone Hero or YARG: If you have a computer, download Clone Hero or YARG (Yet Another Rhythm Game). You can find "charts" for every single song from every Guitar Hero game ever made, including the ones deleted from Guitar Hero Live.
- Keep Your GH Live Dongle: If you do decide to play on PC, that USB dongle for the Xbox One GH Live guitar is actually quite valuable for fan projects. Don't lose it.
The era of guitar hero live xbox one songs was a weird, experimental blip in gaming history. It tried to change the rules, and for a few years, it was actually pretty awesome. But today, it's mostly a reminder of why "always-online" music games are a risky bet for players who want to own their library.