Guitar Hero struck a chord in Iowa

The last Guitar Hero sound to come out of Budcat Creations, the Iowa City studio that created Guitar Hero, was more of a whimper than it was a rock anthem when made in November.

That's when the studio's California-based owner, Activision Blizzard Inc., which acquired Budcat Creations in late 2008, pulled the plug on Budcat.

It was a signal of what was coming in February.

The Iowa City studio, at 332 S. Linn St., employed about 70 people. But Activision Blizzard said it needed to streamline its music development resources, to align it with its strategic goals.

University of Iowa graduate Isaac Burns and former Iowa City resident Jason Andersen, who met in 1998 while working at EA Tiburon in Maitland, Fla., created their own game company in Las Vegas before moving to Iowa City in January 2006.

Budcat employees learned of the Nov. 16 closing when security guards greeted them as they arrived at work. The employees were told the studio had closed and that they were no longer employed, The Gazette reported in November.