Mad Catz is out, PDP is in as co-publisher of Rock Band 4

Rock Band 4 developer and publisher Harmonix announced today that the game has a new co-publisher: peripheral manufacturer Performance Digital Products.

PDP is replacing Mad Catz, which is especially notable given that Mad Catz has fallen on hard times recently and laid off over a third of its staff last month. While Mad Catz saw a sales bump following the launch of Rock Band 4 last year, it wasn't what the company was hoping for.

"Rock Band sell-through was lower than originally forecast," Mad Catz chief Karen McGinnis said in a statement alongside the company's most recent earnings report. "Resulting in higher inventory balances as well as lower margins due to increased promotional activity with retailers."

According to a PDP partnership FAQ posted on Harmonix's website, the company will continue to work with Mad Catz and Mad Catz will continue to sell and support Rock Band 4 peripherals. However, PDP is expected help co-publish future Rock Band 4 DLC and will likely debut its own plastic instruments later this year.

Incidentally, Harmonix is continuing to raise money for a PC port of Rock Band 4 on the crowdfunding/investment platform Fig.