The Rooster Teeth controversy, explained

07.03.2024 - 02:51 / wegotthiscovered.com

One of the longest running digital media and gaming companies, Rooster Teeth, is being shut down after more than 20 years, multiple controversies, several owners, and an unsuccessful rebrand. Rooster Teeth’s general manager announced the shutdown at a company wide meeting on Mar. 6, after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery decided that it didn’t see a path to profitability. Considering the number of scandals over the years, it’s surprising it didn’t happen sooner. Let’s take a look at what happened.

Around 150 full-time workers are now out of a job, and a large number of content creators and contract workers are also out of work. General manager Jordan Levin wrote a detailed memo to staff, saying that the company couldn’t handle the “challenges facing digital media” and the “fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization.”

Warner Bros. Discovery is in the process of selling rights to some Rooster Teeth properties, including the Roost Podcast network, which will continue to operate while WB searches for a buyer.

“Warner Bros. Discovery thanks Rooster Teeth’s groundbreaking creators and partners, and the strong management team, for their many years of success,” the media company said. “Your passionate and loyal fans are testament to your achievements.”

So how did we get here? How did one of the most recognizable properties on the Internet just get dismantled and sold for parts? Let’s start at the beginning.

What is Rooster Teeth?

Rooster Teeth is a media production company based out of Austin, Texas. It was founded way back in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman. The name comes from an insult called “cockbite” from the original trailer for one of their longest running properties called Red vs. Blue.

In addition to the sci fi satire Red vs. Blue, the company has an anime series called RWBY and an animated mech show from Michael B. Jordan called Gen:Lock. The company originally struck gold with a series of videos called Let’s Play, and it has accrued more than 6 billion views throughout all of its social and video channels. The Rooster Teeth YouTube page has more than 90 million subscribers, and one of its most popular videos, a fake trailer for an Angry Birds movie, has 26 million views alone.

The company’s had a few different owners over the years. It was first bought by media company Fullscreen, which was then acquired by AT&T’s Otter Media. AT&T was in the process of selling Rooster Teeth when it was acquired by Warner Bros. Discovery.

The company has weathered some huge controversies over the years, so much so that someone kept a spreadsheet to keep tabs on everything. Some of the accusations leveled against