The brand behind the Nitro Deck, NEO S, and Atom controllers (CRKD) has announced a partnership with Gibson for a new guitar controller.
CRKD has confirmed the two officially licensed Gibson Les Pauls will be shipping in 2025. There’s the Encore model, and the PRO Edition. The developer says: “Building upon an unrivalled legacy in music gaming hardware, the CRKD brand was established by the product development and design team previously at RedOctane, best known for creating Guitar Hero and designing the hardware for the title. In an epic return to their roots, CRKD is bringing the band back together, working together with Gibson and leading community creators to push the boundaries of what a guitar controller can be in 2025.”
Adding: ” Reimagined for modern gamers, the Les Paul Guitar Controller range features groundbreaking technology, seamless connectivity, and impressive customization options, bringing a host of innovations to the genre, designed to enhance performance and cater to players of all skill levels”, CRKD has also put out a new official trailer, below:
The team says “The PRO Edition guitar controller sets a new standard with its Advanced Fret System (AFS), a mechanical fretboard engineered for unmatched precision and responsiveness. It also features a newly innovated Hall-Effect Strum Bar with haptic feedback, delivering ultra-fast response times, exceptional accuracy, and superior durability.
Players can customize the actuation point and sensitivity of their strum bar, along with the simultaneous haptic feedback, allowing for a new experience which can be finely tuned via the CRKD companion app. The Encore Edition comes with standard strum and fret buttons, but both the Encore and PRO Edition feature a modular design, allowing players to upgrade fret necks anytime for customization based on performance or personal preference, offering a unique upgrade path for both models. ”
With both Encore or PRO Edition guitar controllers, gamers can choose between multi-platform or Xbox specific hardware. Both guitar controllers are available for pre-order today and expected to ship in June 2025.
The multi-platform guitar controllers are compatible with PC, PC handhelds, Nintendo Switch, and Android devices, including smart TVs, tablets, and mobile devices. With Legacy Mode, gamers can also use their controller with many classic Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles on PlayStation consoles. (Refer to the compatibility chart on product pages for details.)
The Xbox guitar controllers are officially licensed for use across Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. In addition, they are also compatible with PC, PC handhelds, and Android devices including Smart TVs, tablets, mobile devices.
Head of Product Design at CRKD and former RedOctane designer, Stephen Withers, stated, “The rhythm music genre holds significant historical importance, and our dedication to the legacy we contributed to remains steadfast. The enthusiasm for music gaming continues to thrive, particularly with the immense popularity of titles such as Fortnite Festival. We believe it is the right moment to enhance the experience and innovate the hardware that greatly influences gameplay. We are pleased to collaborate with Gibson to introduce this new range to both longstanding and new fans, and we anticipate witnessing the continued growth of the genre in 2025 and beyond.”
The CRKD Gibson Les Paul Black Tribal Encore Edition Guitar Controller, is available to pre-order today and is expected to start shipping June 2025 retailing for $109.99 / €129.99 / £109.99 for the multi-platform controller and $119.99 / €139.99 / £119.99 for the Xbox controller.
The CRKD Gibson Les Paul Blueberry Burst PRO Edition Guitar Controller, is also available to pre-order and is expected to start shipping June 2025 retailing for $119.99 / €139.99 / £119.99 for the multi-platform controller and $129.99 / €149.99 / £129.99 for the Xbox controller.