I was never a fan of "Halo," but I always enjoyed the antics of "Red vs Blue." Red vs Blue was a groundbreaking machinima that followed the antics of a group of humble soldiers in the world of Halo, debuting in 2003 as Rooster Teeth's first production (though its roots go back much further) and continuing to this day. But "Red vs Blue" will end this year, Deadline reports, as will Rooster Teeth, which is being shut down by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. [Warner Bros. Discovery has continued to invest in our company, content and community since taking over ownership and management of Rooster Teeth from AT&T in its acquisition of TimeWarner. But now, due to the challenges facing digital media due to fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization between platforms, advertising, and patronage, it is with a heavy heart that we announce that Rooster Teeth will be closing."

Levin said the closure of Rooster Teeth "reflects broader industry dynamics" including "shifts in monetization, platform algorithms, advertising challenges, and the ups and downs of patronage," which have resulted in numerous closures across the industry.Rooster Teeth's closure coinciding with the final season of Red vs Blue was unintentional, he added, but "can only be described as appropriate."

Warner is also considering selling the Rooster Teeth catalog and properties, including Red vs Blue, RWBY, and Gen:LOCK. The Rooster Podcast Network will continue to operate as usual for the time being.

Rooster Teeth may not have the cultural relevance it once did, but it was a genuine institution, especially for older people on the Internet. Its presence was such that in 2006 Electronic Arts commissioned it to produce ads for EA Sports games; one of the ads it produced for "Madden NFL 07" received a complaint from Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark. In response, Rooster Teeth released a "director's cut" version in which Clark cloned himself so that he could basically play every position perfectly and eventually have at least one player on the field who could tackle with him.

Red vs Blue is probably Rooster Teeth's best-known game series, but I actually first encountered PANICS-People Acting Normal In Crazy-ass Situations, a still unmatched It was a comedy machinima based on the horror-shooter FEAR.

Please tell me this isn't a gold star:

Despite the nostalgia, Rooster Teeth's closing sucks. But it may be a sign of big changes coming for Warner. Earlier this week, the company said it wants to focus more on free-to-play and live-service games to avoid the revenue pitfalls of big-budget standalone games. It also told Small Radios Big Televisions maker Owen Deery that it is "retiring" games from Steam and the PlayStation Store "due to internal business changes."

I still find Rooster Teeth's first Red vs Blue very entertaining. The final season will air later this year.