Harmonix, as the developer, and MTV Games, as the publisher, have announced that Rock Band 3 is officially in development at that the game will be launched in time for the 2010 holiday season.

The two companies have not mentioned any platforms, but the title will likely arrive on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Nintendo Wii. The official Facebook phrase promises that more details will be coming soon and says that Electronic Arts will again act as a distributor for the boxed version of Rock Band 3.

The announcement is not a very surprising one, considering that various sources have talked about Rock Band 3 for more than three months, since the official announcement of Green Day Rock Band, the new project oriented towards the career of the punk band.

Initial speculation is saying that the new game might mark a shift in the concept of the series with Rock Band 3 offering a mode, which could teach players how to handle a real world instrument, alongside the features already known from previous installments.

The announcement is an interesting one because it means at least two Rock Band titles will be arriving this year, despite the fact that the overall music industry sector has been seeing falling revenue ever since 2009. Recently, Viacom, the company that controls MTV Games, said the Rock Band sales decline affected its revenue and that it would favor a future approach focusing on software and not on delivering a new set of expensive peripherals.

Activision Blizzard, which publishes the Guitar Hero franchise, also unveiled that it would be outing less titles linked to it in 2010. Last fall, The Beatles Rock Band managed to outsell Guitar Hero V. The release dates for the series' installments this year have so far not been decided.