Fuser is a rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by NCSoft. It was released on November 10, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Fuser allows players to create DJ mixes from a number of licensed musical tracks, scoring the player based on their remix. The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes as well as the ability to share remixes with other users. Following the acquisition of Harmonix by Epic Games in 2021, Harmonix shuttered the multiplayer servers in December 2022 and removed the game and additional content from sale, while leaving the single player components playable.
Gameplay In Fuser, the player takes the role of a DJ at a large concert, creating mashups of various songs. Gameplay consists of controlling a virtual DJ table with four record players, custom instruments, sound filters, and up to 24 pre-selected songs called a "crate" available to remix. Each song is separated into four stems, which are keyed by color and related to a type of musical instrument such as drums, guitar or vocals. At any time, the player can pick a song, select a stem from that song, and place it on any of the record players to add the selected stem the current mix. The game automatically adjusts the mix's tempo and musical key. Additionally, players can cue a second instrument track, which can be then switched back and forth individually with a single drop or using a "riser" that transitions them over a short period. Audio filters can be used on each instrument, and the user has the ability to create various instrument loops via a synthesizer which then can be added as another instrument. This concept is comparable to Harmonix's prior game DropMix, which was a physical card game incorporating NFC technology with an electronic game board and mobile app that was published through Hasbro.
The game has a single-player campaign featuring multiple sets across various venues. At each set, the player's mixes are scored, with more points given by adding new tracks either on the downbeat or at specific beats by each instrument where the track drops. Additionally, the virtual audience will give requests, such as for specific songs, songs from a specific genre, or a certain type of instrument. Completing these requests in a short amount of time scores additional points. The player is ranked on a five-star scale based on their total score during the set. To achieve a high score, the player has the opportunity to customize the contents of the crate to be as efficient as possible in switching between tracks.
Before their discontinuation, Fuser also included both cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes in which players collaborated on creating a mix or battled against each other. Players could also participate in weekly mix events that tasked players with creating a mix based around a particular musical genre or instrument that was then voted on by other players. The game also features a freestyle mode that allows players to create their own mixes and share them with others over social media.
Harmonix introduced the Headliner Spotlight feature in May 2021, which presented a few "Diamond Stage" dedicated Twitch channels where players could perform Fuser mixes in front of viewers. Players could earn in-game diamonds from other game activities to reserve spots on the Diamond Stage as well as to unlock additional cosmetics, songs, and other features. While a player was performing on the stage, viewers could submit requests, in similar fashion to those in the game's campaign mode, to challenge the current player.
Development Harmonix had announced a publishing deal through NCSoft in August 2018 for a rhythm game for personal computers and consoles. Harmonix's Dan Sussman said that NCSoft had seen the game in an early state and quickly became their publishing partner for it, including support for showcasing the game at industry events. Fuser was announced at the 2020 PAX East event in February 2020, with plans for release on November 10, 2020.
Sussman said that Fuser was a continued evolution of their music games in how they have looked at player agency. With Fuser, Sussman believed that many players of their games have a wide range of musical tastes and wished to have more control of how they interacted with the game's music, thus enabling them to be creative with their tastes. Additionally, Harmonix found that with games like Rock Band, which offered a large number of songs, the songs essentially became disposable as players didn't have much incentive to learn the songs in details; players wanted a game that gave them an opportunity to get more familiar with the structure of a song. Compared to many of Harmonix's past games, Fuser does not require any special peripherals; Harmonix's Dan Walsh said the main driver behind this decision was accessibility and ease of bringing the game to market, both as retail and digital products. Sussman also found that because Fuser featured gameplay distinct from their previous games, it was able to draw both experienced rhythm game players and new players.
Sussman said that as with past Harmonix games, songs from bands closely associated with Harmonix employees will likely also appear on the full setlist. Sussman also said that for music licensing purposes, they assured that the rights for these songs allowed for the ability to mix with other songs and for the sharing of game mixes to social media.
Harmonix announced that the game's online features will shut down on December 19, 2022. The game and all DLC would be removed from sale, though players would still be able to use all content they own in the game's offline modes following this date. However, it was announced on December 16, 2022, that the servers would stay up until early 2023, due to an unspecified issue.
Soundtrack The following songs are included with the base Fuser game:
Artist Song Genre Year 50 Cent "In da Club" Rap/Hip-Hop 2003 a-ha "Take On Me" Pop 1984 Ace of Base "The Sign" Pop 1994 Agent 001 "Daniel Wiggy" Dance 2003 Amy Winehouse "Rehab" R&B 2006 Armin van Buuren "Blah Blah Blah" Dance 2018 Austin Seltzer "Shanghai Slugfest" Dance 2020 Ava Max "Sweet but Psycho" Pop 2018 Bad Bunny "Yo Perreo Sola" Latin/Caribbean 2020 Basement Jaxx "Where's Your Head At" Dance 2001 Basra Khan "Black Phosphorous" Dance 2020 Becky G & Natti Natasha "Sin Pijama" Latin/Caribbean 2018 Benny Benassi presents The Biz "Satisfaction" Dance 2002 Bignums "High Fructose" Dance 2020 Billie Eilish "Bad Guy" Pop 2019 Black Light Odyssey "Sequence Her" Dance 2019 Blue Öyster Cult "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Rock 1976 Bobby Brown "My Prerogative" R&B 1988 Brad Paisley "Mud on the Tires" Country 2003 Brown "Reminds Me" Dance 2020 Cade7 "Dot Calm" Dance 2020 Cardi B "Bodak Yellow" Rap/Hip-Hop 2017 Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe" Pop 2011 "Don't Let Me Down" Dance 2015 Charm Syndicate "Bloom" Dance 2020 Childish Gambino "Summertime Magic" R&B 2018 "Rock the Casbah" Rock 1982 Coldplay "Clocks" Rock 2002 Colette "Physically (Pete Moss Remix)" Dance 2020 CrackCase "Rupture Academy" Dance 2020 Da Sunlounge ft. Sara Z "Been Here From the Start" Dance 2013 Danny Humbles "Streetfire Tango" Dance 2020 David Youu "Get Back To Me" Dance 2020 Deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" Dance 2008 Dissentor "Rotten Colossus" Dance 2020 DMX "X Gon' Give It to Ya" Rap/Hip-Hop 2003 Dolly Parton "Jolene" Country 1973 Donna Summer "Hot Stuff" Dance 1979 Doscomp "Lonely Mornings" Dance 2020 Dua Lipa "Don't Start Now" Pop 2019 DYH "Let's Go Home" Dance 2020 Eddie Japan "Summer Hair" Rock 2019 Eric B. & Rakim "Don't Sweat the Technique" Rap/Hip-Hop 1992 Faint Shadow "Feeling Never Lasts" Dance 2019 Fatboy Slim "The Rockafeller Skank" Dance 1998 Flo Rida feat. Sage the Gemini & Lookas "G.D.F.R." Rap/Hip-Hop 2014 Grandmaster Melle Mel "The Message (2012)" Rap/Hip-Hop 1982 Greg LeBeau "This Isn’t Enough" Dance 2020 Grouplove "Tongue Tied" Pop 2011 Hashtyani "Mantra" Dance 2020 Hollow "Rip The Floor Open" Dance 2020 Imagine Dragons "Thunder" Rock 2017 J Balvin & Willy William "Mi Gente" Latin/Caribbean 2017 Joliet "Groove on Lockdown" Dance 2020 Jonas Brothers "Sucker" Pop 2019 Justin Timberlake "Can't Stop the Feeling!" Pop 2016 Karol G & Nicki Minaj "Tusa" Latin/Caribbean 2019 Kendrick Lamar & SZA "All the Stars" Rap/Hip-Hop 2018 "The Man" Rock 2017 LaBelle "Lady Marmalade" R&B 1974 Lady Gaga "Born This Way" Pop 2011 Life On Planets "Raise it Up" Dance 2018 Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus "Old Town Road (Remix)" Pop 2019 Lizzo "Good as Hell" Rap/Hip-Hop 2016 LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock "Party Rock Anthem" Dance 2011 Lonely C ft Kendra Foster "Hold Up (Radio Edit)" Dance 2018 Lord Felix "Studio 54" Rap/Hip-Hop 2019 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz "Thrift Shop" Rap/Hip-Hop 2012 Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera "Moves like Jagger" Pop 2011 Megadeth "Symphony of Destruction" Rock 1992 Meghan Trainor "Me Too" Pop 2016 Midnight Magic "I Gotta Feeling" Dance 2016 Migos "Stir Fry" Rap/Hip-Hop 2017 Naughty by Nature "O.P.P." Rap/Hip-Hop 1991 Nelly "Hot in Herre" Rap/Hip-Hop 2002 O-Zone "Dragostea Din Tei" Dance 2003 ORION "Time For Crime" Dance 2019 Otis Redding "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" R&B 1968 Panic! at the Disco "High Hopes" Pop 2018 Pattern Drama ft. Aquarius Heaven & Hezza Fezza "Wait For Me" Dance 2017 Paul van Dyk "For an Angel (PvD Remix '09)" Dance 1994 Pharrell Williams "Happy" Pop 2013 Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer "Give Me Everything" Pop 2011 Pixies "Here Comes Your Man" Rock 1989 Post Malone "Better Now" Rap/Hip-Hop 2018 Rage Against the Machine "Killing in the Name" Rock 1992 Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up" Pop 1987 Rüfüs Du Sol "Eyes" Dance 2018 Salt-N-Pepa "Push It" Rap/Hip-Hop 1987 Sam Hunt "Body Like a Back Road" Country 2017 Sean Paul "Temperature" Latin/Caribbean 2006 Shania Twain "Any Man of Mine" Country 1995 Sia ft. Sean Paul "Cheap Thrills" Pop 2016 Smash Mouth "All Star" Rock 1999 Soul Clap ft. Nick Monaco & Bill "Bass" Nelson "Future 4 Love" Rock 2016 Steve Porter "Espresso" Dance 2017 STL GLD ft. Latrell James "Chaka Zulu" Rap/Hip-Hop 2012 T.I. ft. Jay-Z "Bring Em Out" Rap/Hip-Hop 2004 TK Sun "Hold On Infinite" Dance 2020 Tones and I "Dance Monkey" Pop 2019 A Tribe Called Quest "Can I Kick It?" Rap/Hip-Hop 1990 Twenty One Pilots "Stressed Out" Rock 2015 "Back To Boston" Dance 2020 Warren G & Nate Dogg "Regulate" Rap/Hip-Hop 1994 "Blinding Lights" Pop 2019 Whitney Houston "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" Pop 1987 Young MC "Bust a Move" Rap/Hip-Hop 1989 Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey "The Middle" Dance 2018
Three songs were also available as pre-order bonuses. The pre-order bonuses were later released as normal DLC on January 21, 2021. ArtistSongGenre Year Dua Lipa "New Rules" Pop 2017 Khalid "Young Dumb & Broke" R&B 2017 "Mr. Brightside" Rock 2003
DLC
Upon release, 25 songs became available as the first batch of DLC.