Which company acquired RedOctane in June 2006?

Which company acquired RedOctane in June 2006? Activision acquired RedOctane in June 2006. The deal brought the Guitar Hero publisher and its key hardware partner under the same corporate ownership.

RedOctane was founded by brothers Kai and Charles Huang in 1999 and initially made video-game accessories, including controllers and dance mats. It teamed with Harmonix Music Systems to release the first Guitar Hero for PlayStation 2 in November 2005. RedOctane handled publishing and the distinctive guitar controller, while Harmonix developed the game.

Activision announced plans to buy RedOctane in May 2006, and the acquisition was completed on June 6, 2006. Activision later shifted development of the series to Neversoft after Harmonix was acquired by MTV Games. That change is why later Guitar Hero entries were not made by the original developer.

A common mix-up is confusing RedOctane with Harmonix. Activision bought RedOctane, while MTV Games bought Harmonix. The two transactions reshaped the series just as Guitar Hero was becoming a major rhythm-game franchise.