Rock Band from players of "Rock Band" that the group released the song for download through iTunes, as well as considered making full albums available, which they in turn did when they released their album "Moving Pictures" in full on the platform soon after. Guns N' Roses had delayed their long-awaited album "Chinese Democracy" so often, many doubted it would ever be released; however, the "Rock Band 2" debut of the song "Shackler's Revenge" was thought to be the precursor to the release of "Chinese Democracy"; the album was indeed released in November 2008 and was later made available as a downloadable
Chinese Democracy Geffen had removed "Chinese Democracy" from its release schedule and withdrawn funding, stating: "Having exceeded all budgeted and approved recording costs by millions of dollars, it is Mr. Rose's obligation to fund and complete the album, not Geffen's." Around that time, manager Merck Mercuriadis said the album was close to complete. According to a March 2005 "New York Times" article, production costs for the album had reached $13 million, making it probably the most expensive recording "never made". Mercuriadis dismissed the article, writing in a letter that the newspaper's sources had not been involved with the project for several years.