Activision announced today that the Guitar Hero franchise has raked in more than $1 billion in retail revenue in the 26 months since its original release in 2005, setting a new industry record.

The sales were spread across the entire franchise, which includes Harmonix's Guitar Hero (PS2), Guitar Hero II (PS2, X360), Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80's (PS2) and Neversoft's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360). Additionally, Guitar Hero III was the #1 selling game in 2007, which itself was a record year for the gaming industry.

Activision also noted that over 5 million songs have been downloaded for Guitar Hero III since downloadable content for the game launched last November, including both song purchases and free downloads. Harmonix's Rock Band (PS3, X360), meanwhile, has registered over 2.5 million song downloads since its launch two months ago.