'Halo' theme song coming to 'Guitar Hero III'

What do you get when you cross two of the most popular video game franchises in history, Halo and Guitar Hero?

According to the video game blog Joystiq, you get a free downloadable copy of the Halo theme song, available Thursday to owners of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Microsoft's 'Halo 3' earned $170 million on its first day of sales in the U.S. The game's theme song will be available as a free download for 'Guitar Hero III.'

(Credit: Microsoft/Bungie)

Apparently, some people thought the Halo theme song would be included with Guitar Hero II, but they were wrong. And now, instead of coming included with the third iteration of the franchise, it's being offered as a free download.

We're talking about video game royalty here, folks. Many hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of video game franchise revenue, together at last.

And for those of you who can't get out to play dodge ball in the park in San Francisco, then perhaps rocking out to Halo music on Guitar Hero may well be the perfect after-turkey entertainment.