If you dated a man who played video games in the 2010s, you’ve probably heard of Rooster Teeth.
Initially a website for drunkenly reviewing video games, Rooster Teeth quickly became a leading force in machinima (creating narratives from computer graphics) with their series Red vs Blue.
Unfortunately, on Mar. 6 of this year, Rooster Teeth’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Rooster Teeth would be shut down after several years of unprofitability. This will result in approximately 150 employees being out of work.
I became a fan as a teenager when I discovered the company’s former YouTube channel Achievement Hunter, which centered around gaming.
From there, I made my way into other parts of the company such as Funhaus, Let’s Play and their more narrative content.
For the last several years I’ve been mainly following Rooster Teeth through their podcasts.
After years of listening to the Rooster Teeth Podcast, I cemented myself as a proud comment leaver on F**kFace, which has inspired a lot of my own creative work.
However, the company has not escaped controversy – as many companies established in the same time period have dealt with.
When you got your start by making gaming content in the early 2000’s, you’re destined to see some unfortunate characters that don’t mesh with us today.
Several controversies accusing the company of having a “crunch culture” and toxic work environments have likely contributed to the decrease in revenue.
To me, the shutdown is simply disheartening. It’s not fun to watch people who make you laugh have their positions removed.
I feel horrible for those I’ve seen and heard on camera, as well as the impressive people who work behind the scenes.
Ultimately, I understand how the industry works and why this happened – Rooster Teeth wasn’t profitable. It is a product of a bygone era.
But when considering that the same company made The Flash, there wasn’t anywhere else they could have taken a closer look when deciding to cut back funding?
For those who follow Rooster Teeth’s main narrative series RWBY, Red vs Blue, and Gen:Lock, Warner Bros. Discovery is looking for companies to purchase the rights so it’s possible you’ll see them continued in the future.
For anyone like me who mainly takes in the company’s podcasts, they’re also looking for buyers for the Roost podcast network and it’s reported to continue operating in the meantime.
I don’t know what’s next in store for the people of Rooster Teeth, but I hope that in the end they’re able to keep doing the work they love.