Roosterteeth
DefunctFounded 2003 · 109 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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Austin-based gaming and comedy web studio behind Red vs. Blue and RWBY, shut down by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2024.
Also known as Rooster Teeth · Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC
Founders & leadership
Roosterteeth was founded in 2003 by Joel Heyman and Gustavo Sorola.
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC was an American entertainment company headquartered at Austin Studios in Austin, Texas, producing gaming, comedy and fandom-oriented video content. Founded on April 1, 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola and Joel Heyman, the company grew out of the founders' earlier drunkgamers.com game-review site; the Rooster Teeth name is a euphemism for an insult used in the original trailer for its first series, Red vs. Blue.
Its output spanned machinima and animated series (Red vs. Blue, RWBY, gen:LOCK, Camp Camp), live-action shorts and comedy, Let's Play gaming videos through brands including Achievement Hunter and Funhaus, reality shows, entertainment news, tabletop and game shows, and podcasts under The Roost Podcast Network. Divisions included Rooster Teeth Animation, Rooster Teeth Games and Rooster Teeth Studios. The company released the feature film Lazer Team in 2015, developed three games and published seven others from 2014 onward, and ran the RTX fan convention in Austin from 2011 to 2023 as well as in Sydney and London.
After a succession of corporate owners — Fullscreen, Otter Media, WarnerMedia and finally Warner Bros. Discovery — Rooster Teeth was shut down by WBD, with the closure announced on March 6, 2024 and the website, apps and First subscription service terminated on May 15, 2024. Approximately 150 full-time employees were laid off. In February 2025 co-founder Burnie Burns acquired the brand and some intellectual property through Box Canyon Productions.
Founding story
While attending the University of Texas at Austin, Burnie Burns and Matt Hullum worked with actor Joel Heyman on the 1997 independent film The Schedule. Burns later met Geoff Ramsey, Gustavo Sorola, Dan Godwin and Jason Saldaña while working at a local company called Telenetwork, and the group formed drunkgamers.com, a site reviewing video games while drinking. The names 'Drunk Gamers' and 'Drunk Tank Podcast' were changed to 'Rooster Teeth' and 'Rooster Teeth Podcast' because sponsors and game publishers would not support a brand with 'drunk' in the title. The company began in a spare bedroom of co-founder Burnie Burns' home in Austin, Texas, in 2003, and launched Red vs. Blue on April 1, 2003.
Business model
Rooster Teeth operated a hybrid model combining paid subscriptions to its FIRST/First tier (early and exclusive access to content plus merchandise discounts), preroll advertising on its own site, YouTube preroll advertising, licensed studio productions, branded merchandise sales, and annual live events such as the RTX conventions. Content was distributed both on its owned-and-operated website and apps and on YouTube channels, with some series later pulled from YouTube to drive viewers to the company's own platform. The company also developed and published video games and operated The Roost Podcast Network.
Revenue came from subscription memberships (FIRST, later First), advertising including preroll on its own platform and on YouTube, licensed studio productions, merchandise, game development and publishing, and ticketed live events.
Traction
At its peak the First subscription service had about 225,000 paying members, falling to roughly 60,000 by March 2024. Rooster Teeth's primary YouTube channel had 9.18 million subscribers and over 6 billion views as of September 2021, with more than 45 million subscribers across all channels; the company also reported 1.2 million unique monthly app visitors and more than 4 million community members. Red vs. Blue ran 18 seasons and over 338 episodes.
Latest developments
Warner Bros. Discovery announced on March 6, 2024 that Rooster Teeth would shut down, citing shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising and patronage after unsuccessful attempts to sell the unprofitable division. Roughly 150 full-time employees were laid off and contractors and creators were affected. The First program, website and apps closed on May 15, 2024, while The Roost Podcast Network continued to operate as WBD evaluated buyer interest, and catalog IP including RWBY, Red vs. Blue and gen:LOCK was shopped for sale. In February 2025, co-founder Burnie Burns acquired the Rooster Teeth brand and some remaining intellectual property through Box Canyon Productions. A community-run RT Archive project preserves the company's video catalog via the Internet Archive, excluding series that remain available on official platforms.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Rooster Teeth was one of the digital studios that gained traction with the rise of web video alongside Maker Studios, Fullscreen and Machinima, many of which were acquired by larger media firms and later shut down or folded into other operations. It was positioned by Fullscreen's CEO at acquisition as a media brand with strength among 18-34-year-old, male-skewing audiences, and its leadership described Netflix, HBO and Amazon as competition. The company operated at a loss for the decade preceding its closure despite repeated headcount reductions.
Rooster Teeth established a direct-to-audience internet video destination and paid membership program years before YouTube's rise, initially treating YouTube as a competitor and prioritizing its own community site. Its first production, Red vs. Blue, popularized machinima and became one of the longest-running episodic web series, and the company attributed its success to maintaining a close relationship with its community and to producing only content its own team wanted to watch.
Technology
The company pioneered machinima, producing animated series using video game engines and assets — Red vs. Blue was created using the Halo games — alongside 3D animation (RWBY, gen:LOCK), live-action production, its own subscription video-on-demand website and mobile apps, and in-house game development.
Go-to-market
Content was published on Rooster Teeth's own website and mobile apps and on its YouTube channels, with podcasts and Let's Play videos distributed on YouTube. Audience monetization ran through the FIRST/First subscription tier, advertising, merchandise and in-person fan conventions (RTX, 2011-2023).
Fans of gaming, comedy, animation and internet fandom culture, described at the time of the Fullscreen acquisition as an 18-34-year-old, male-skewing audience, reached through free ad-supported video and a paid subscriber base.
Geography
Headquartered at Austin Studios in Austin, Texas, with production staff in Los Angeles following the 2015 opening of an LA office. The company reported eight locations in 2018 and held RTX conventions in Austin, Sydney and London.
History
Rooster Teeth was founded on April 1, 2003 in Austin, Texas, and released Red vs. Blue as its first production the same month. It grew from a community website into a multi-division studio, moving into Stage 5 at Austin Studios in 2014 with over 90 employees, launching the RTX convention in 2011, opening a Los Angeles office in 2015 that housed the Funhaus division, and releasing the feature film Lazer Team in 2015. Ownership changed repeatedly: Fullscreen acquired the company in November 2014; Fullscreen was later acquired by Otter Media, a joint venture of AT&T and The Chernin Group; Rooster Teeth then became part of WarnerMedia under AT&T, and in 2022 part of Warner Bros. Discovery. Jordan Levin became general manager in 2019, when Matt Hullum stepped back from the CEO role and roughly 50 staff (about 13% of the workforce) were laid off. Burnie Burns left the company in 2020. On March 6, 2024, Levin announced the shutdown; the First program, website and apps closed on May 15, 2024. In February 2025, Burns acquired the Rooster Teeth brand and some remaining intellectual property through Box Canyon Productions, listed as the company's successor.
Risks & controversies
Rooster Teeth operated at a loss for the decade before its closure, and its RTX conventions were described internally as never profitable; First subscriptions fell from a peak of about 225,000 members to roughly 60,000, and headcount fell from more than 400 to about 150. Declining YouTube revenue prompted the company to pull shows from the platform in October 2023. In 2019 the company dropped voice actor Vic Mignogna following sexual harassment allegations. In 2022 Rooster Teeth issued an open apology for 'hateful and hurtful' conduct toward employees after a former staff member publicly described being harassed, underpaid and marginalized, and the company faced accusations of a toxic and racist work environment.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 16
launches, deals, and filingsCo-founder Burnie Burns acquired the Rooster Teeth brand and some remaining intellectual property through his company Box Canyon Productions, which is listed as the successor entity.
Announced on April 15, 2024, the First subscription program and the Rooster Teeth website and apps closed on May 15, 2024, the company's stated defunct date.
After unsuccessful attempts to sell the unprofitable division, Warner Bros. Discovery shut down Rooster Teeth's operations, resulting in layoffs of approximately 150 full-time employees plus contractors. WBD sought buyers for catalog IP including 'RWBY', 'Red vs. Blue' and 'Gen:Lock', and for the Roost Podcast Network, which continued to operate.
General manager Jordan Levin announced the cancellation of the 2024 RTX fan convention, telling staff the event had never been profitable.
Rooster Teeth removed programs including 'Red vs. Blue' and 'Camp Camp' from YouTube, making them available only on its own website, citing insufficient YouTube revenue.
Rooster Teeth marked its 20th birthday with new logos and the tagline 'Just Playing'.
Following AT&T's sale of WarnerMedia to Discovery, completed in 2022, Rooster Teeth became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment.
Rooster Teeth issued an open statement of apology for 'hateful and hurtful' conduct toward employees, after a former staff member described being harassed, underpaid and marginalized at the company.
Then-owner WarnerMedia appointed Jordan Levin, former CEO of The WB, as general manager of Rooster Teeth in a reorganization in which Matt Hullum (previously CEO), Burnie Burns and Geoff Ramsey took on new creative roles.
Cost-cutting in 2019 resulted in the layoff of around 50 employees, roughly 13% of the workforce.
Rooster Teeth hired Luis Medina as senior VP of Partnerships, Evan Bregman as Director of Programming and Ryan P. Hall as Head of Development to support audience expansion.
The subscription video-on-demand service Rooster Teeth had operated since its early days, originally built on 'Sponsorships', was rebranded as First.
Co-founder Burnie Burns confirmed Rooster Teeth would establish an office in Los Angeles, which housed the Funhaus division.
Rooster Teeth released its first feature film, the science-fiction action comedy 'Lazer Team', funded in part through YouTube's creator program.
Rooster Teeth was acquired by digital media company Fullscreen in November 2014 for undisclosed terms. Fullscreen was subsequently acquired by Otter Media, a joint venture of AT&T and The Chernin Group.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- RT Archivertarchive.org · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Roosterteeth do?
- Austin-based gaming and comedy web studio behind Red vs. Blue and RWBY, shut down by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2024.
- Who founded Roosterteeth?
- Roosterteeth was founded by Joel Heyman, Gustavo Sorola in 2003.
- Who are Roosterteeth's investors?
- Roosterteeth's investors include The Chernin Group (TCG Crypto).