After more than two decades of producing content, Rooster Teeth has announced today that the studio is being closed for good by its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Rooster Teeth’s general manager, Jordan Levin, made the announcement to his team in a meeting, with all members receiving a memo detailing the shutdown. With the studio closing, there are approximately 150 full-time employees to be laid off with other content creators and contractors losing lines of work as well.
Variety obtained Levin’s memo which states “[I]t’s with a heavy heart I announce that Rooster Teeth is shutting down due to challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage…” WBD will be on the search for outside interest to acquire their various properties such as Red vs. Blue, RWBY, and Gen:LOCK.
The company was founded in 2003 with the launch of Red vs. Blue, a web-series based off and created in Halo. Red vs. Blue was more than just a funny little show; it popularized the machinima format, which is used to create cinematic productions using graphical engines. The episodes quickly gained popularity, and the series was expanded with footage from subsequent Halo games. Microsoft even commissioned the group to do promotional videos for additional titles in the series throughout the years. Thanks to Halo and Red vs. Blue, Rooster Teeth pioneered a new form of digital content.
The company went on to produce a number of online programs, both gaming-focused and otherwise. Rooster Teeth was also home to such original animated series as RWBY, Camp Camp, and gen:LOCK. In 2017 it launched its own games division, Rooster Teeth Games. At different points in time its subsidiaries have included the YouTube channels Achievement Hunter, Funhaus, ScrewAttack, and more.
During the shutdown process, the Roost Podcast Network will continue to operate while WBD searches for potential buyers for the aforementioned properties. On March 7, there will be a live stream held on the website to give some explanation for what the future of the company’s content will look like. The website will eventually share details about shows, franchises, sponsorships, and merchandise with teams internally as well as the community on RoosterTeeth.com, and the announcement with Levin’s full memo can be read here.