Rock Band library nabs 2,000th tune next week

It took just over two years for Harmonix to reach the 1,000 song milestone for its rhythm game platform Rock Band, achieving the feat in November 2009. The next 1,000 additions to the Rock Band playable music library will have taken less than half that time.

Today, Harmonix and publisher MTV Games announced that the Rock Band platform will hit the 2,000-song milestone next week with the release of tracks from The Jimi Hendrix Experience's album Are You Experienced?. Included in this tally are on-disc songs from Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Lego Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band, and AC/DC Live: Rock Band, as well as weekly downloadable content updates.

Harmonix has yet to announce which tracks will be added to the Rock Band Store from the Are You Experienced? album, saying only that the titular tune will be the 2,000th song. The album download will contain a mix of live and studio tracks from Hendrix's debut album, and it will be available for download beginning October 12 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

The Rock Band library's milestone will come two weeks before Harmonix and MTV Games ship the third flagship installment in the franchise, Rock Band 3. Due on October 29 for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and DS, Rock Band 3 will attempt to reinvigorate the sagging rhythm game genre by introducing a 25-key MIDI keyboard. The console versions of the game include 83 tracks, while the DS installment offers 25 tunes.

To date, more than 75 million songs have been downloaded through the Rock Band Store, a full list for which is available on Harmonix's official Web site. For more on the latest installment in the franchise, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Rock Band 3.