Only a few months after MTV Games sold off Harmonix to a private investment firm following slow sales of Rock Band 3, Activision Blizzard announced today that the axe is coming down on the other side of the music genre fence.

After five years, and ninteeen releases, Activision Blizzard will be shuttering the Hero francise, including Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. Also in the announcement was the cancellation of True Crime: Hong Kong, the sequel to the decently received True Crime: New York back in 2005.

With the cancellation of the Hero series and  latest True Crime release, three studios will be hit particularily hard, with more then 500 layoffs expected. Those studios include UK based Freestyle Games and Bizarre Creations, and Canada's own United Front.

With both MTV and Activision Blizzard out of the music game business, questions on the future of the genre are abound, as neither Activision Blizzard nor MTV could turn a profit on their latest releases.