Short answers, pulled from the story.
Rooster Teeth announced the company would shut down on the 6th of March 2024. The shutdown was attributed to fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage.
Rooster Teeth was founded in 2003 by five men including Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman. The founders met while working at a local telecommunications company and attending the University of Texas at Austin.
In July 2024, the RWBY franchise was purchased by Viz Media to continue the main web series and produce merchandise. Viz Media also stated intentions to distribute the series via streaming platforms and home video releases.
As of September 2021, Rooster Teeth's primary YouTube channel had 9.18 million subscribers and over 6 billion video views. All channels combined maintained over 45 million subscribers at that time.
Burnie Burns acquired the Rooster Teeth brand and some of its remaining intellectual property through his company Box Canyon Productions on the 5th of February 2025. The website relaunched on August 7 after a period of being in open beta.