Warner Bros. is killing Red vs. Blue production company Rooster Teeth

polygon.com:

After 21 years, Warner Bros. is shutting down Rooster Teeth, the production company behind Red vs. Blue and RWBY, among other titles. The process is expected to take several months, according to a notice from Rooster Teeth general manager Jordan Levin, published Wednesday on the Rooster Teeth website. The Roost Podcast Network, which boasts podcasts like Kinda Funny and RT Podcast, will stay with Warner Bros. as the company looks to sell the network.

Warner Bros. will still release a completed, unspecified Rooster Teeth-produced movie and other in-the-works projects, and is “exploring options” for Rooster Teeth’s content, according to Deadline. Variety reported Wednesday that around 150 full-time workers will be laid off, with “dozens of contractors and content creators” suddenly impacted, too.

Levin attributed the closure to “challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage.”

The company was founded in 2003, and with it came Red vs. Blue, a machinima-styled show that used Halo to tell a story about two groups of isolated, opposing soldiers dropped into a barren canyon. The show quickly became a hit; it took a game people loved — the original Halo — and created a parody of both wartime narratives and military video games. Most importantly, it was justfunny — at least, it was to me as a teenager. Twenty-one years later, I still sometimes mumble a line from the first episode to myself: You ever wonder why we’re here? Red vs. Blue’s final season is slated for this year.

“Though not intentional, It’s only appropriate that our last season of ‘Red vs. Blue’ coincides with us navigating this closure together,” Levin wrote. “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