When Guitar Hero World Tour arrives in stores this fall, it will be the first console edition of the game not to feature Gibson-brand guitars, thanks to a litigious falling out earlier this year. While the axes in World Tour might not carry the names of their real-world counterparts, that’s about the only licensing lapse in the game.

Activision has announced a slate of exclusive partnerships with more than a dozen instrument and equipment manufacturers covering everything from amps to strings. Among the included partners are Marshall, Ernie Ball, Zildjian, Guitar Center, AMPEG, Audio-Technica, EMG Pickups, Evans Drumheads, Krank Amplification, Mackie, Orange County Drum & Percussion, Pork Pie Percussion, Regal Tip, Sabian cymbals, and Vox.

World Tour isn’t stopping at real-world gear. Activision also secured the rights for some actual venues, including Amoeba Music and House of Blues Sunset Strip, and "in-game likeness of multiple multi-platinum recording artists." Ozzy Osbourne has already been revealed for World Tour, while previous Guitar Hero games have featured Slash, Aerosmith, and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello as in-game artists.

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Vicarious Visions is prepping the Wii edition of the game, while Budcat is handling the PlayStation 2 version.

By Polybren