Guitar Hero Van Halen

May 7, 2009: After over a year of speculation and rumors, Will Kassoy of Activision officially announced Guitar Hero: Van Halen. He stated that the game will be released "in the second half of this year" and that it will feature a number of bands, including Queen, Weezer and The Offspring.GameSpot: Guitar Hero: Van Halen officially official (May 7, 2009)

April 16, 2009: Germany's video games ratings board, the USK, posted a listing on their website for Guitar Hero Van Halen. Ratings boards, as seen multiple times in the past, are often the unintentional bearers of premature but joyous news. Activision had not yet announced the Guitar Hero game, nor have they confirmed the whirlwind of speculation begun by the USK posting.1up.com: German Ratings Boards Lists Guitar Hero Van Halen (April 18, 2009)

As far back as March 2008, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick mentioned Van Halen while speaking about classic bands he would like to introduce children to through the Guitar Hero franchise.Kotaku: Is Guitar Hero: Van Halen Next For Activision? (March 4, 2008)

And as recently as March 2009, Joystiq claimed that a secret source had confirmed that Van Halen would indeed be the third band headlined a Guitar Hero game. According to the article, the game's set list would include the songs "Jump," "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher," as well as Judas Priest's "Painkiller".Joystiq: Rumor: Activision preparing Guitar Hero: Van Halen (March 6, 2009)