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Warner Bros. Discovery Shuts Down Production Company Rooster Teeth

Rooster Teeth (RWBY, gen:LOCK) revealed on Wednesday in a memo from general manager Jordan Levin to its staff that, after 21 years, it is shutting down "due to challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage."

Rooster Teeth's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will explore options for its IP such as RWBY and gen:LOCK. Levin stated in his memo that Rooster Teeth's team is not currently impacted, and that the Roost Podcast Network will continue operating Warner Bros. Discovery evaluates outside interest in acquisition. Levin also noted that "Warner Bros. Discovery continued its investment in [Rooster Teeth's] company, content and community."

Rooster Teeth is known for the RWBY and Red vs. Blue franchises, among others. The company produced the gen:LOCK animated series, which debuted in 2019. Rooster Teeth and Polygon Pictures co-produced the Transformers: War For Cybertron animated series. The company's first series Red vs. Blue will get its final season this fall.

The RWBY: Ice Queendom television anime for the RWBY franchise premiered in Japan in July 2022. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan, and it also streamed an English dub.

Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman founded Rooster Teeth in April 2003. Fullscreen, part of AT&T's Otter Media, acquired Rooster Teeth in November 2014. Rooster Teeth later became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. The Max (formerly HBO Max) streaming service features Rooster Teeth content. Rooster Teeth moved its content from YouTube to its own website last October.

Sources: Rooster Teeth, Deadline (Nellie Andreeva)