Rooster Teeth Shutting Down After Two Decades, Is Looking To Sell-Off Red Vs. Blue

Rooster Teeth, the entertainment company behind the popular Halo parody Red vs. Blue and magical girl action-series RWBY, is shutting down after 21 years.

The news was announced at an all-hands meeting on March 6 alongside a staff-wide memo from Rooster Teeth general manager Jordan Levin, according to Variety. The memo states the company's closure came as a result of "challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage."

Warner Bros. Discovery is in talks to sell-off some of Rooster Teeth's most popular intellectual property, including Red vs. Blue. The show popularized machinima with its use of the Halo game series to tell its story and put Rooster Teeth on the map back when it started in 2003, the same year the company was founded. In more recent years Rooster Teeth has become more associated with its anime-inspired original show RWBY, which has run for nine seasons and spawned multiple spin-offs and video games.

More than 150 full-time employees will be laid off following Rooster Teeth's closure, which will also effect various contractors and content creators who partner with the company. Warner Bros. Discovery is additionally looking to sell the Roost podcast network, an off-shoot of Rooster Teeth that produces podcasts on a variety of topics ranging from gaming to true crime. Roost will continue to operate in the meantime until a potential buyer is found.

According to Variety, Rooster Teeth has operated at a loss for the past decade, and its annual fan convention, RTX (which was recently canceled in 2024 prior to news of the company's shutdown), has never been profitable. In 2022, the company came under fire following allegations from a former employee of low-pay and harassment. Rooster Teeth in a statement said it was "disheartened to hear of anyone who has experienced pain" while working at the company, and that it would work to address and investigate past conduct as it moved forward. The company rebranded last year with a new logo and tagline, "Just Playing," to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Levin in his memo announcing the closure spent several paragraphs commemorating Rooster Teeth's various accomplishments over the years, and stated management is "working through what comes next in real time" in order to "implement the best way to wind things down for us and our community."

"Though not intentional, it's only appropriate that our last season of 'Red vs. Blue' coincides with us navigating this closure together," Levin said in the staff-wide memo. "Our legacy is not just a collection of content but a history of pixels burned into our screens, minds, and hearts. Rooster Teeth has made an indelible mark on the media industry, and we should be so proud of the countless ways we pioneered a business connecting creators and content with a dedicated community."