#my disappointment is in rt as a company

[monarchisms]

as of the time this post goes up, rooster teeth's extra life stream will start in three days on the 12th (holy shit, already?!) at 10 am central time. given [gestures vaguely] everything that's come to light about rooster teeth in the past, a lot of people will understandably not want to watch the stream this year, or every year they do it in the future going forward.

if you're someone who donates money to extra life through rt and/or buys the limited-time merch, it's good to know that if you want to, you can instead just donate directly to children's miracle network hospitals without associating your donation with any specific individual or group, rooster teeth included.

if you do want to donate to extra life through a participant that isn't rt, the extra life website also has a search index, so if you have at least one person/small group/company/whoever in mind you'd rather donate to, you can just look them up there!

and of course, donating to your local hospital or charity at any time of year is 100% another valid way to donate your money. rules and requirements for donations vary between organizations, so before doing anything else, do some research and check for verified and reputable locations, both online and in real life :)

[goeffgeoff]

im somewhat belatedly quite devastated.

rt's been a large part of my life since before youtube was even a big thing. and watching these people, old and new, talking in this livestream has me shedding tears i thought i was too grown and resigned and accepting to let free.

im in a little bit of a "What am i going to do now?" spot too. there's gonna be a void, and im gonna hit a grieving period that i cant dismiss.

the "its just a ____." is such a shit take, and anyone making it is soulless.

my heart really goes out to everyone involved with rt, everyone that poured their heart and soul and creativity into it, from the company side to the contractors to the fandom.

i really hope to see the phoenix [many] rise from the ashes here, and something new and brilliant come from all the people that still want to create and participate and make and reach out and touch.

ill miss you rooster teeth, more than i can express. and i hope that i see you all again in new places and doing what you love.

despite every bump and burn and frustration and angry disappointment, and for every bit of magic and joy and laughter and stupidity and creativity, i've loved being part of it. thanks for the memories.

goodnight, rooster teeth.

[dragynkeep]

Rwby stans: RT is a abusive and bigoted company. We will no longer support them RT: Look, Blake and Yang are finally touching tongues! Rwby stans: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! #GREENLIGHTVOL10!!

like i doubt bees were made canon in this volume just to deal with the previous controversy kdin unearthed in october but god it doesn't look good anyways. the fact that this had all come out & then months after the long queerbaited couple finally became canon in the same breath that the creators admitted they'd been "planned since the beginning" but not developed for 8 of those 10 years, like?

even now it just seems to be a bandaid on a bullet wound but seeing queer fans of rwby completely fall over themselves to justify why rwby should get another volume, why supporting crwby is "different to supporting rooster teeth" when they're the same entity, why watching the volume on cr isn't supporting rt when it is: is just. very questionable & disappointing.

rooster teeth really be the off brand chik fil a for whether or not queer people will actually get the cishet boot off their necks or be placated with some fake dyke behaviour. sigh.

[multisfabulis]

A Much-Needed Talk

Word Count: 2934

DISCLAIMER: I want to make it clear that, under no uncertain circumstances, I do not support RT. The company has committed many atrocious acts of harm, both to its employees, former or otherwise, and numerous marginalized groups that are utterly reprehensible and completely unacceptable. While I have Things to say about fans that continue to financially support RT via RWBY and RT's other IPs, this is not the place to divulge such criticism. As such, any discourse that potentially crops up under this fic will be promptly deleted. If you continue trying to create discourse or make my fic a hot spot for debate, you will be blocked and/or removed. You do not need to agree with me but I ask that you please respect this boundary. This will be posted on any and all future RWBY fics from this point forward.

I did not think I'd post another RWBY fic for a good long while yet but the autism brainrot hit back in April so I had to do it. Still, what better way to ring in Pride Month than by writing about the Bees?

So the way this came about was that I was SO disappointed by how RWBY never had a scene in which Yang and Blake talked about the events that happened at Beacon and of the aftermath that followed. I had hoped so much that Vol.6 would give me something, anything, regarding these two talking about Blake leaving Yang and the pain that caused her and I got jack. Nothing. Not even a passing mention outside of the beginning. Needless to say, I was annoyed, especially since the angst of that situation was part of what drew me to shipping the Bees in the first place! Like, CRWBY had the opportunity to have these two struggle with this massive bump in their relationship and eventually reconcile with each other and they MISSED it! Thankfully, that's what fanfics are for.

This was actually tough to write. What I wanted for this fic was to acknowledge that Blake wasn't wrong for leaving Yang and she had perfectly valid reasons for doing so but to also acknowledge Yang's pain at that and how she was completely within her right to be upset with Blake for leaving her. I wanted to show the nuance this kind of situation has and how both girls aren't wrong to feel how they did. Whether or not I did a good job at that is up to the people who read this.

I also added some things in here, like Yang and Blake having an argument at the Brunswick farm that ended with the former telling the latter something along the lines of "leaving is the only thing you're good at". I needed something that would get these two together initially and I saw the opportunity to throw in even more angst so I figured why not?

Last thing is that this fic was beta'd by my good friend, whose name I shall not say in this. I normally credit them but due to the fact I have my disclaimer at the top of this and I'm paranoid about the "fans" harassing them because of their association with me, I'm choosing to keep them anonymous (with their permission, of course). Thank you for your work, beta reader!

Read on AO3 | Read on DeviantArt | Support me on Ko-fi!

     Quiet.

     The room was so quiet. Yang could almost hear a pin drop. After the bombshell that was dropped on everyone only an hour ago, it had been unanimously decided that they all would take some time off to think. Yang had chosen to go upstairs and head into one of the spare rooms the Cotta-Arcs had. There were unopened boxes and furniture strewn about everywhere but it suited her needs just fine.

     Honestly, even after all this time, she still couldn’t quite believe it. Salem, the witch responsible for the attack on Beacon and mother to the Grimm, was immortal? And she couldn’t be destroyed?

     The knowledge of that truth drove her to despair. It made her question everything she had done to get to this point. Defending Haven, fighting her mother, taking the Relic; was it all just meaningless? Did trying to stop Salem even matter anymore if she couldn’t even die? Would it be better to just…give up? Accept that nothing she did would change anything and resign herself to her fate?

     Gods, what were they going to do?

     Soft knocking shattered the silence. Yang turned her head to look at the door, wondering who it could be. A second or two passed before there were more knocks, followed by a voice.

     “Yang, are you in there? It’s me.”

     Panic mixed with a dash of guilt ripped through her.

     What could she want?

     The last time they had talked to each other was back at the farm, that hadn’t ended well between them. All it took was one misstep for an argument to ensue and the other girl to walk out in a huff. Yang wanted to apologize to her for it once she’d calmed down enough yet the Apathy had made it so that she couldn’t find it within herself to care. Since then, the two girls avoided being alone together wherever they could.

     But they obviously couldn’t do that forever. If their relationship had a shot in hell of going back to what it once was, they needed to get over this. So, with that, Yang pulled open the door.

     Blake stood on the other side with an expression of surprise on her face. Their eyes met for a second before Blake averted her gaze, her ears drooping ever so slightly. Yang hated to see her act so meek and timid around her, though she could understand the reason why. There were still so many unsaid things between them.

     But perhaps today would be a step in the right direction.

     “Hey, I uh, I just wanted to come check in on you and see how you were doing,” Blake said, folding her arms. “Things got pretty crazy downstairs, so…”

     “Yeah, they did.” Yang forced out a laugh. “But I’m…hanging in there, I guess.”

     “That’s good.”

     “Yeah… How about you? Are you doing okay?”

     “Oh, uh, yeah. I’m…okay as I can be, given the circumstances.”

     “Good! Good, that’s---that’s good… Do you, uh…” Yang started, rubbing the back of her neck, “wanna come in? So we can talk?”

     Blake’s ears perked up as she replied with, “Oh! Uh, s-sure!”

     She walked past Yang into the empty room with slow, careful strides. Yang’s heart pounded in her ears as she closed the door. Psyching herself up, she turned around to face Blake---

     “Yang, I’m sorry.”

     Wait, what?

     “I’m sorry about what I said back at the farm. It was stupid and wrong of me to even imply that you couldn’t take care of yourself and…yeah…I’m sorry.”

     Why was she the one apologizing? Wasn’t Yang the one who blew up at her? The one who hurt her? This wasn’t right.

     “No, I should be the one saying sorry, okay? Yes, I was angry and upset over what you said but that’s not an excuse to then fire back at you, all right? I should’ve just kept my mouth shut and walked away.”

     “Well--” Blake’s lips curled up into a tight smile-- “I think I deserved it. After all, I am pretty good at running away from my problems.”

     The brittle laugh she gave did little to ease Yang’s guilt. It was hard enough knowing she’d hurt her with such a low blow, but hearing Blake basically agree with the sentiment just stung. Was it really possible for them to fix their relationship or were they destined to only harm each other even now?

     Then the smile vanished, leaving behind a frown as Blake continued on. “Still, I should’ve been more careful with my words, so I’m sorry. Truly.”

     “Listen, we both…said things we didn’t mean. Things we wish we could take back but can’t. No amount of apologizing is going to change that so…” She took a tentative step towards her. “I’d say we’re even.”

     “Even. Right...”

     Blake’s eyes fell to the floor as her ears folded downward. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she meant by that. Sure, they were even in this situation but in the grand scheme of things? There may as well be a chasm as wide as the whole of Mistral standing between them. Yang would find this to be inappropriately comical if if weren’t so fucking tragic…

     “You know,” Blake began, peering up at her, “with how everything is right now, I think now’s a good time as any to have a talk…wouldn’t you say?”

     She didn’t know which was worse. Realizing she might die by Salem’s hand or facing the emotions she’d been burying deep down since Blake’s return? Frankly, the former sounded way more appealing to her than the latter. But this may finally be her chance to get some concrete answers, an opportunity for them to close a fraction of the distance separating them.

     This was what she’d wanted for so long. Why was she hesitating?

     Taking a deep breath in to settle her nerves, Yang replied with, “Yeah, let’s…let’s talk.”

     Using chairs they found spread out around the room, they sat facing one another, gazes locked. Time passed as both girls waited for the other to speak up and break the silence between them. Yang, in particular, wasn’t keen on going first, mainly because she couldn’t guarantee she’d remain calm throughout. She didn’t trust herself to not lose her temper as she remembered the months following Blake’s departure and the pain she’d felt during them.

     But she had to keep it reigned in no matter what. Weiss might’ve actually been right that Blake had a good reason to leave them all in the dark. Maybe she felt guilty over what happened, or maybe she blamed herself for it. Whatever it was, Yang needed to meet her halfway, to create a safe environment for her to voice her feelings without the fear of judgment.

     Anything to ensure Blake didn’t leave her again.

     “I guess I should start from the beginning.” Blake folded her hands neatly in her lap. “The reason why I left. Well, actually, there are two reasons.”

     With a deep breath in, she said, “The first was that I needed a break. A break where I didn’t have to think about the Grimm or Adam or anything else that happened that awful night, so I took the first ship out of Vale and went back home to Menagerie. It was the first time my parents and I had seen each other in years and I thought they would be mad at me for leaving them but…They just welcomed me back with open arms, and I’ve never been happier.”

     “Was your trip good?” Yang asked, catching the small smile across her face.

     “Yeah, it was. It allowed me to get my head back on straight and I was able to relax, at least for a little bit. It was good--” her mouth formed a thin line as her ears drooped-- “until it wasn’t.”

     Nothing more needed to be said. Blake hadn’t gone into detail over everything that transpired before her arrival in Haven but it was enough for Yang to understand it had been pretty rocky. She was almost beginning to wonder if she had somehow gotten lucky in having to overcome her inner demons before setting out on her journey. Compared to the rest of their team, she had it easy.

     “The other reason was…him. Adam. We fought, he overpowered me, and…” She closed her eyes, seemingly willing herself to stay calm as one of her hands moved up to where her scar was. “He threatened to destroy everything I loved as punishment for me leaving him. I knew how powerful he was, I’d seen it with my own eyes, so I knew he wasn’t bluffing. Then he heard you looking for me and…well, you pretty much know the rest.”

     The scene from that night was forever seared into Yang’s mind. The instant she saw that bastard pull his sword out from Blake’s body she wanted to tear him limb from bloody limb. It was with reckless abandon she rushed in to save her and it cost her an arm and almost nearly her life. Everything afterwards had been a blur but she couldn’t forget what he had taken from her even if she tried.

     “I thought you’d all be better off without me. I didn’t wanna risk Adam coming after any of you to get to me, especially you, Yang. It’s my fault you ended up getting hurt and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for that.” Blake’s gaze landed on her prosthetic. “I know I shouldn’t have left you like that, I know, but it was the only thing I could think of to keep you safe. Believe me when I say that no amount of words will ever be enough to express how sorry I am for hurting you.”

     Tears slid down her cheeks before she hastily dried her eyes. Yang wanted nothing more than to comfort her in that moment, letting the things she said chip away at the walls she’d built around her heart. It didn’t erase the months of grief she endured but damn, it was a good start.

     Clearing her throat, Blake continued. “Anyway, it was during my time back home I realized I couldn’t run away from my problems forever. I had to face them and stop blaming myself for things that were out of my control. I needed to stop being a coward.” She met Yang’s gaze. “I’m not running anymore. Not from this or from Ruby or Weiss or you. You’re all too important for me to risk losing again.

     “I swear--” she placed a hand on her chest as if making a solemn vow-- “I’ll earn back your trust and your forgiveness, no matter how much time it takes.”

     She spoke with such resolve in her voice, it made it almost impossible for Yang to not believe her. She’d had people apologize to her before for leaving her and that was usually the end of it. Never once did they promise to earn back her trust and forgiveness, as if they were worth it. As if she was worth it. It was strange.

     Different.

     Yet…nice, all the same.

     Scooting her chair up a bit closer, she asked, “Can I say something?”

     “Yes, of course, go ahead,” Blake replied.

     “I won’t lie to you, I was…angry when I found out you left. Pissed off. I thought that, after everything we went through together, you’d be there for me. But you weren’t. You had just…vanished. Disappeared without a trace. It hurt, Blake. Hurt more than losing my arm did. It---It felt like a betrayal.”

     Memories of that time floated up to the surface. The moments she’d throw books across her room in a fit of fiery rage because they reminded her of Blake. The days she’d turn on the TV and see news updates about the White Fang, wondering if Blake was okay out there. The nights she’d dream of Blake, whether they were of the both of them together at Beacon or of her dead at Adam’s feet. It was truly a wonder how she got through those months without losing her mind.

     “I spent all that time thinking about you and wondering what I’d say to you if I ever saw you again. I wanted to curse you out, hurt you like you’d hurt me. I even had a list in my head of all the things I wanted to call you. I had it all planned.” Then she scoffed. “And it all flew out the window the moment you showed up at Haven.”

     “What stopped you?” Blake asked.

     “Don’t get me wrong, I was still angry and upset at you. But…seeing you there, hearing you call my name, it…it made me want to hug you and never let you go. I think I would’ve done it if we didn’t have more pressing issues at hand.”

     “Yang…”

     “Still, even then, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe you actually came back for us. I was scared, scared of getting close to you, only for you to leave again. So I kept my distance. With each day that passed, I kept expecting you to be gone. That’s why I kept putting this--” she gestured at the space between them-- “off because I wanted to just get used to you just being around again. However, I…I believe you when you say you’re not running anymore.”

     She tentatively put a hand on Blake’s knee, watching her intently for any sign of discomfort. She didn’t dare take it a step further, lest she scare her off with how forward she was being. The ghost of a smile appeared on Blake’s face as she placed her own hand down just before Yang’s. The way they imperceptibly inched towards each other wasn’t lost on her and it prompted her to continue talking.

     “I’m not mad at you for doing what you needed to do. Do I wish that you had told me? Yes! But…I get why you didn’t. I also don’t blame you for what happened to me. It wasn’t your fault. I would’ve done that for Weiss or Ruby if they were in your position so please…stop tormenting yourself with the what-ifs.” Yang brushed her fingers along the side of Blake’s face in an attempt to soothe her. “I really…care a lot about you and I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with me. You should stay because you want to stay, not out of any obligation you feel like you have.

     “If you need some time to yourself, just tell me or anyone else here and we’ll give you it. Just don’t leave us in the dark again, okay?” She gently took hold of Blake’s hand in her own, feeling her skin against hers. “The least we can do is welcome you back with open arms.”

     They exchanged smiles, though Yang could see a hint of red dusting across the other’s cheeks. The sight of it brought forth a sense of warmth deep within her, a smoldering kind of feeling that coursed through her body.

     Thumb stroking over her knuckles, Yang spoke softly, “I also wanted to apologize for how I treated you back at Beacon. Shoving you against a desk, making those stupid jokes at your expense, it was wrong and I shouldn’t have done that.”

     “Yang, it’s all right, I know you weren’t---”

     “No, it’s not.” She grabbed Blake’s other hand and held it. “Getting physical with you, annoying you with that laser pointer, it wasn’t right. Ignorance doesn’t excuse the fact I still hurt you. That’s why, although I can’t make any promises, I’ll be more conscious in how I speak and act around you.” Her grip tightened. “I don’t want to be like him.”

     Blake’s eyes peered into hers. “I know you aren’t.”

     Hardly a second passed before Blake drew Yang into a hug, her arms wrapped tight around her. She buried her face in the crook of Blake’s neck, breathing her in. She smelled of flowers and salt and the essence of twilight. It reminded Yang of home and it made her want to bring Blake there once things had settled down enough.

     “You’re not like Adam,” Blake murmured, her fingers gripping onto Yang’s shoulders, “you’re better than him.”

     With a hand on the back of her head, she simply answered, “I’ll keep trying to be. And I already forgave you a long time ago.”

     They pulled away a moment later, bumping their foreheads together with a subdued red blooming across their faces. Violet and gold shared tender looks at each other as their hands laid entwined between them and their knees barely touched. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, letting time fly past them just so they could indulge in the luminous joy this brought them.

     It was strange. The world seemed like it was heading towards total destruction due to Salem’s machinations and the only hope it had of being saved rested on the shoulders of Hunters-in-training. She didn’t know what the hell they were going to do but she felt…hopeful. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt since before she left home to search for Ruby.

     Maybe there was a chance they could all get out of this alive.

     Now was the perfect opportunity to gather everyone up. There’d been more than enough time for them to kick their minds into gear so they needed to try and figure out a game plan. Yang wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

     So she and Blake went off to find Ruby.

     Together.

[tparadox]

Back in the early days of Netflix when they were starving for content to put on the "Netflix Instant" streaming bonus you got for free with your DVD rentals, they had a bunch of web series. I saw some of HISHE (through their deal with Starz somehow?), The Guild, and maybe all of Spaceballs: The Web Series there.

I bring this up because I saw Red Vs. Blue there and decided to watch this thing that I'd heard people enthusing about and others talking semi-academically about early Machinema. It seemed like each season was there bundled into episodes so it was like three or four hour-plus "episodes". And I liked a little bit how it started out making fun of Halo capture the flag games, but the characters were just so dumb in a way that was already either a little out of fashion by then or just would've been better received by a middle schooler or high schooler when I was already in college. I think I finished the second season and decided it wasn't for me, but that also seemed like when it was about to become more plot focused and less just screwing around in a video game.

Some years later I was doing unpaid labor for a production company that partnered with Rooster Teeth for a while and I got to meet Burnie Burns a few times, but unlike other interns who were freaking out about meeting a childhood celebrity I was just like, "that's kinda neat". I think I've technically gotten paid by RT for at least one job in the heyday of my post production services freelancing. I was and am based in their area so I entertained the idea of trying to work for them, but as time went on it seemed less likely and then I started to hear stories from the inside about how badly they were organized thanks to being run by a bunch of high school buddies who accidentally had a TV studio built under them. I was always expecting that to be their undoing, not being sacrificed on the altar of tax write-offs by Hollywood's final boss.

But all I've actually seen of Rooster Teeth's stuff is that portion of RvB, some live action shorts our company produced for them that had disappointing releases, Day Five season 2 (see post-production services), and I think I got to see all of Crunch Time. I believe Slow Mo Guys started there but I've mainly seen them after they appear to have left.

People seem to really love RvB and RWBY. How would RT fans recommend RT stuff to me?

[lacependragon]

Once again consumed by the unending annoyance and rage at people caring more about a pair of fictional women kissing (badly animated, at that, it's so fucking stiff) over the treatment of real-life people who are actually, really suffering. Who have been harmed and abused. Who continue to struggle.

Oh, and if it's not the fictional women, it's the bird man.

Like. You'd rather support a sexist, ableist, racist, transphobic, cunty organization and throw them your money eagerly and willingly, while pretending they aren't horrible, to continue being this horrible, all over a pair of fictional women kissing than support trans and queer creators.

When canon is created by a bunch of prejudiced chucklefucks you take the canon FROM THEM and make your OWN while arguing that they need to PAY THEIR FUCKING WORKERS.

Go read your fucking fanfiction! God knows none of you write it. Or else you wouldn't whine so hard about creators taking too long.

"But all shows are like that."

I don't care. I don't buy Spiderverse merch. I don't buy RWBY merch. And I certainly don't beg for a shitty organization to greenlight another season of a show made by shitty people just so I can watch them abuse and belittle and fire everyone ELSE on their crew who ISN'T a fucking freelancer or contract worker.

Write a fucking fanfiction and stop acting like a show who keeps firing EVERYONE WHO CARES ABOUT IT is actually good enough to "justify" (no such thing) the massive harm and hatred of queer and trans people within the workspace, the livelihoods destroyed, and the careers forever tossed aside.

There is no CRWBY.

The writing is shit.

And more importantly: real people are getting hurt.

Write a fucking fanfiction. Stop using the fucking V10 hashtag. And remember that real world people are suffering and that if you condone this suffering, you are shitty.

Writing fic and drawing fanart is great! But seriously you chucklefucks drop the fucking tag.

No show, especially one that is:

fatphobic (only villainous or perverted characters are fat)

colourist & racist (all dark skinned characters are villainous or die, with the exception of fucking EMERALD and Oscar, but we have Hazel, Arthur, and Sienna to start)

ableist (no one is allowed to go without prosthetics, scars exist only for vibes, disability is never given a nuanced discussion, demonization of mental illness, not to mention the entirety of Ruby's storyline in V9)

queerphobic (toxic masculinity is everywhere, Ren's basically the only guy allowed to be remotely feminine, the obnoxious lack of queer men on screen due to RT's well-documented homophobia)

or sexist (yeah you'd think it wouldn't be, but when you consider the amount of V9 that is focused on Jaune at the detriment of focusing on the TITULAR CHARACTER'S MENTAL HEALTH, and considering this isn't the first time, I'm calling it)

...should have this much of a stranglehold on people's lives! It's not fucking worth it!

I love RWBY. I have loved RWBY since the Red Trailer. Those four girls mean a lot to me. I also acknowledge that it is full of fucking flaws that I work very hard to overcome and rewrite in my fanfics.

So, do like me:

Write a fucking fanfiction.

It's better than the show's actual writing, these days, anyway. And this doesn't hurt real life people who RT continues to harm just because, I dunno, they fucking can?

Anyway I'm disappointed in people. You can want V10 without using the hashtag. You can want V10 while speaking up about how people are mistreated and you don't want it to continue. You can want V10 and be happy to wait.

But if you prioritize the tenth season of a fictional web show over fixing the problems within the company, both specifically and as a whole, that are destroying people's lives, then you're just a loser.

Just a fucking internet loser.

[oddlyhale]

Let me be clear, this doesn't change my support of Kdin.

If anything, this just shows that absolutely nothing good comes out of RT if you've been there for a very long time.

I've said before that I am Laotian, and yes I'm incredibly bothered by all the Asian jokes Kdin made. Sure, they're all cringey 2008 Asian jokes that are Shane Dawson-tier, but it still hurts to hear them. I'm normally unbothered by these tiny brain racist jokes, but it hurts when it comes from somebody you support and listened to their RT horror story.

I believe I'm mostly hurt by how betraying it is. Willing to go to war for her, only to be shown that she's just as bad. If I tried sitting here and said, "everything she said doesn't bother me," I'd be lying to myself.

We have to hold everyone accountable, and that most certainly includes Kdin.

The thing is, if Kdin was open and transparent with all the racism she did in her first twitlonger, showing just how bad her behaviour was and how she's finally grown and realized how bad it was, then I would've respected it. Truly.

I don't doubt that the discrimination she faced at RT opened her eyes. I just wish she was honest in the first place.

And this most certainly doesn't change the fact that RT is an abusive workplace. That is still something to fight against as much as we humanly can.

I wish this company didn't happen in the first place. Disappointments all around.

[gavinopricey]

ive been following you since you posted achievement hunter stuff, thoughts on the rooster teeth news?

It’s pretty sad tbh! I got away from a lot of RT/AH stuff a year or two after leaving high school (I basically just followed Ray to Twitch and began to engage with RT less and less, just lost interest on my end) but it was like, my MAIN source of entertainment for so long? So many laughs, and they introduced a lot of cool people that are still working hard on creative projects (like Fiona’s films!) Also it’s super shitty that everyone found out at an all-hands meeting, and I hope the staff gets picked up quickly by other companies or groups. While it seemed like maybe RT as a whole was waning in terms of popularity, I don’t think that this was necessarily an inevitable outcome- I’ll be curious to see if any of the staff go more in-depth about the shifts in monetization, content creation, short term and long term impacts of being acquired, etc. But yeah, overall just really disappointing and another casualty in this bout of industry lay offs.

[goombasa]

Everything Actiblizz Owns and What's Happening With It

Hey all.

So a big topic of discussion last year, especially near the last fourth of the year, was the fact that Microsoft had successfully acquired Activision Blizzard for around $69 Billion dollars.

Despite what the number might suggest, this is most certainly not nice. Acti-Blizz was far from a perfect, or even good, company, but a single company consolidating power is never a positive.

However, beyond the horrifying, monopolistic implications this could have down the road, this did get me thinking… Activision-Blizzard has been around for a very long time, in multiple incarnations, and they own a lot of different IPs. So I thought it might be a good idea to go over what they own, or rather what Microsoft now owns, and what's actually been done with these series and IPs recently, if anything. Because Activision-Blizzard owns a lot of stuff, but they don't necessarily do a lot with them, as seems to be the case with a lot of larger game publishers who have chewed up and spat out smaller studios.

I'm going to do my best to cover all of what Acti-Blizz owns, but I don't think this list is going to be entirely comprehensive, because beyond the big names that everyone knows about, companies this big often have nebulous piles of acquired IPs that they just quietly sit on and do nothing with, content in the fact that no one else is making money off of them, even when they're just rotting there in solitude. So if you see any sort of omissions that you think might below to Acti-Blizz, or any big, glaring ommissions, please let me know, because I'd love to know what sort of stuff a company this large, and with this long a history, is just letting waste away in their copyright office. I'm well aware of how prolific the company was during the early days of gaming for things like Atari 2600 and DOS computers, but I wasn't sure if I should include them or not, and because of their sheer volume, I decided not to for now.

Also, while many of my personal thoughts in this moment are pretty negative, I would in no way be disappointed to be proven wrong on my personal predictions here, many of which are a bit sour. But hey, the gaming industry itself has been souring on me for a good long while. I love games, I love the people who make them, I just hate the companies that run things.

So, let's get started:

Caesar

First Game: Caesar, 1992 (Developed by Impressions Games and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: Caesar IV, 2006 (Developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment, Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: Historical RTS games don't feel like they're very prevalent anymore, do they? I don't know how well this series did because, to be honest, I had never heard of it before. I'm assuming it did decently well, as a sequel cropped up every now and then, but consideirng that the last game in the series was  released not long before Vivendi Games, who owned Sierra at the time, got gobbled up by Activision, I'm guessing this is an IP that got lost in the shuffle. Always there, just buried deep in the vault with a majority of the rest of Sierra's back catalogue.

Personal Hopes: We aren't exactly hurting for good RTS series nowadays. Civilization, Anno, Age of Empires, Northgard, Supremem Commander, Starcraft 2, Driftlands, Tropico, we're not hurting for good strategy. While I could potentially see this coming back considering that Microsoft pushes games just as heavily on the PC as they do on console, They'd be wading into a pretty crowded market, and Caesar isn't a name that resonates very strongly nowadays. I doubt a lot of the wider gaming market that Microsoft often targets would even know that it's based on a pre-existing series of games at first glance.

Call of Duty

First Game: Call of Duty, 2003 (Developed by Infinity Ward)

Latest Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfae III, 2023 (Developed by Sledgehammer Games)

Personal Thoughts: I've never played a single game in the series. It is interesting to me as an outsider how it continues to be one of the highest selling series for the company when anyone I ask about it says that the series hasn't been good in years now. Not in any danger of having production ended, but eventually I do think it's going to become a console exclusive. I don't believe a word of what Phil Spencer says when he says they want to keep putting the games out on rival consoles. It might not happen right away, but I'm pretty sure it will happen eventually, even if they have to make a whole new series to justify it.

Personal Hopes: I have no interest in the series myself, but I do hope that those who play the series get some games down the line from here on out that they can say are genuinely good, rather than people buying it out of obligation and just thinking the game is mediocre.

Candy Crush

First Game: Candy Crush Saga, 2012 (Developed and Originally Published by King Games)

Latest Game: I… THINK this is the only game  in this series? Correct me if I'm wrong, but despite how big it is, I think Candy Crush might be standing alone.

Personal Thoughts: What do you want me to say? It's Candy Crush. It basically came pre-installed with Windows for a while. It's one of those things where it's been around for so long and is apparently super popular, and yet I cannot think of anything good anyone has said about it. It's not even that unique of a concept. Match-Three games are so synonymous with mobile games now that there's an absolute deluge of them whenever you look around any app store. Heck, I don't think it's the only candy-based match-three game anymore. And of course, like every game made by King, it's designed to be predatory and push you towards microtransactions for helpful little tools you can use to get past those super hard puzzles that are holding you up, so it's already there on my shit-list.

Personal Hopes: It's Candy Crush. It's going to be fine, so long as it's still making money. If I have any hopes for this at all, I hope it just goes away, along with most of its micro-transaction pushing ilk.

Crash Bandicoot

First Game: Crash Bandicoot, 1996 (Developed by Naughty Dog, originally published by Sony Computer Entertainment)

Latest Game: Crash Team Rumble, 2023 (Developed by Toys for Bob)

Personal Thoughts: They had such a good setup for a comback with this one. Activision gobbles up Vivendi, who gobbled up Sierra Entertainment, who had the rights for Crash at the time, they did nothing with the IP for years, then bring it back with the N.Sane Trilogy, a very warmly remake of the first three games. Follow that up with a remake of the equally as beloved Crash Team Racing (subtitled Nitro Fueled), and then they release a long awaited original continuation with Crash 4: It's About Time. And then what? They turn Toys for bob and Vicarious Visions, the studios responsible for this excellent resurgence for the character, into support studios for CoD, release a maligned endless-runner mobile game that barely lasts two years, and take a scrapped multiplayer mode for Crash 4 and turn it into an online only MOBA game. They've squeezed the blood from this stone and they're happy to just put it back into the vault until they need another big of nostalgic goodwill. And I don't think that's going to change now that Microsoft owns the IP either. Microsoft has a few kid-friendly, or cartoonish IPs and they aren't chomping at the bit to do anything with them because those games don't appeal to their primary base. I just don't see this series continuing in any meaningful way under Microsoft's stewardship. It is still early days, though. Crash 4 was only a couple years ago, and despite a rather small player base, Crash Team Rumble is still active and getting updates, so there is a chance that we might see something more substantial in the near future.

Personal Hopes: Well after all that belly aching and my pessimistic outlook, my own home is that if they do continue using Crash and friends, I want to see more like Crash 4 in the future. Maybe do away with the more egregious 100% requirements and just focus on making a fun, straightforward platformer. Make it a smaller, more budget conscious project, something that doesn't mess with the formula laid down by 4 too much rather than trying to make it a big spectacle. And if they decide to remake other games in the series down the line, I would love to see a more complete version of Twinsanity, a version of that game with some of the cut content reintroduced would be real interesting I think.

Diablo

First Game: Diablo, 1997 (Devloped by Blizzard North, PS1 Version by Climax Studios)

Latest Game: Diablo IV, 2023 (Developed by Blizzard Team 3, Blizzard Albany)

Personal Thoughts: Hoo boy. If ever there was an example of a game company's shift in ideology. I have not played the most recent game. My experience mostly comes from the first two games, which were great dungeon crawlers. Never tried the third, or the remaster of 2, and let's be honest, Diablo has not been in the best place as of late. A horribly received mobile game in Immortal was released, which was hideously grindy, and then IV comes out and is just littered in microtransactions, like a disgusting amount. No matter how good the game itself, and I have heard folks saying that the game itself is a fun enough dungeon crawler, you just can't excuse how much is being charged for cosmetics in this game. It's terrible. The game also has battle passes and has an expansion coming out some time this year, so I'm going to watch this one carefully to see how its monetization pans out as it continues to be updated.

Personal Hopes: Look, the game sold really well, and it's apparently great for yanking more money out of people's wallet. I just want to see a diablo free of these nasty monetization practices, but considering that this is becoming part and parcel for a lot of Acti-Blizz's games, I don't see that happening, and I don't think Microsoft has any incentive to stop this sort of practice considering that now, they get a slice of that pie. And if the game can continue to be expanded with more expansions and battle passes and such, I highly doubt we'll be seeing another new Diablo of any form, in quite a while. So for this one? I don't have a lot of high hopes at all.

Empire Earth

First Game: Empire Earth, 2001 (Developed by Stainless Steel Studios and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: Empire Earth III, 2007 (Developed by Mad Doc Software and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: Didn't take us long to run into another historical RTS series. This one had about just as much staying power as Ceasar, and in fact, most of the games in the series came out in the time between the third and last game in the ceasar series.

Personal Hopes: Most of my thoughts and hopes are pretty similar to Caesar. It's more similar to Age of Empires rather than focusing on a single civilization, but other than that, I feel like it's in the same boat as Caesar.

Gabriel Knight

First Game: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, 1993 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra On-Line)

Latest Game: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition, 2014 (Developed by Pinkerton Road Studio, Originally Published by Phoenix Online Publishing)

Personal Thoughts: Ah, our first example of an IP that Activision has acquired and has owned for a good long while now (around 10 years) and has done nothing with it. They've had this IP, a classic point and click series from Sierra, for a decade and I'm willing to bed most folks at the company don't even realize that they have it. Now granted, point and click games aren't exactly flying off the shelves, but adventure games in general have been making comebacks in recent years. We had that King's Quest game that was released piecemeal a while ago, and I think that Gabriel Knight could work in that sort of style if someone wanted to take a crack at it. But let's be honest, this is a series that doesn't have near the reach, fanbase, or history that its contemporaries at Sierra had. It's not a King's Quest, it's not a Leisure Suit Larry, it's not a Quest For Glory, and don't get me wrong, that doesn't make this game any less important than those titles, but it's not a series that has the same draw strength as any of those names, which makes Activision taking a chance on revitalizing this series, even with, say, an N.Sane style remake of the first three games, very unlikely. And despite the original creator, Jane Jenson, stating that she's interested in making a fourth game, she admits that the legal tangle with Activision-Blizzard makes that very unlikely. Doubly so now that Microsoft owns Activision-Blizzard, who ate Vivendi, who ate Sierra.

Personal Hopes: I just want a new game to come out. Again, it doesn't have to even be a lavish production. A small digital-only point and click would be great. Or some remakes of the first three games. Get it out where more folks can see it, already! And this is coming from someone who is garbage at Adventure games. I just want to see what a more modern take on this series and genre could be like.

Geometry Wars

First Game: Geometry Wars, 2003 (Developed by Bizarre Creations, originally published by Bizarre Creations)

Latest Game: Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved, 2016 (Developed by Lucid Games)

Personal Thoughts: I'm honestly surprised that we haven't seen more from this series over the years. You'd think that occasionally dropping a small, arcade-style experience like this would be an assured means of making something comparatively quick and easy compared to the constant deluge of AAA ‘blockbusters’ splurging forth from Activision's maw. Yet the series has been dormant since 2016, since basically every massive game studio only knows how to make massive games now. They don't want to make smaller, more digestible experiences, because those aren't the most profitable or something like that.

Personal Hopes: Considering that this game was originally a Microsoft-made series, a darling of the Xbox Live Arcade, I do think that we're going to see this series come back in some way shape or form. The question is going to be whether or not it's going to be more worth it compared to the indie space, where we've seen plenty of 2D twin stick shooters come out over the years, quite a few of them having a look or feel pretty close to what Geometry wars is. Still, I'd like to see another entry in this series, even if just a little bonus game you can play over on Game Pass or something.

Guitar Hero/DJ Hero

First Game: Guitar Hero, 2005 (Developed by Harmonix, Originally Published by RedOctane)

Latest Game: Guitar Hero Live, 2015 (Developed by Freestyle Games)

Personal Thoughts: All right, this one, I get why it isn't around anymore. Guitar Hero was THE rhythm game series to have back in the 2000's, what with its awesome controller and having a rhythm game based around classic and contemporary rock songs, rather than the typical pop, dance, or house music you saw in series like DDR… and also whatever Donkey Konga was trying to do. But between Guitar Hero, its attempted sister series DJ Hero, and its future rival Rock Band, the genre quickly became very oversaturated, the popular bands were mined clean, and we were drowning in a sea of plastic peripherals. No one is really eager to see this series return, and I don't see how you could easily bring it back. No one wants to have to buy a bunch of peripherals to have an optimal experience anymore, and while you can technically play the games with an ordinary controller if you really want to, the whole draw of the games was being able to feel like you were actually playing something resembling a guitar.

Personal Hopes: None here. Guitar Hero had its time in the sun, it was a fun fad, but I think that's all it was. We have plenty of other rhythm games to play now and the genre has been expanding out into other mixed genres as well. We have rhythm beat-em-ups like No Straight Roads and Hi-Fi Rush, or rhythm FPS games like Bullets Per Minute. And traditional rhythm games are doing well enough too with things like the Theaterythm series from Final Fantasy, or independent and free games that are still decently big and infinitely more customizable like OSU! and Stepmania. And then there are the funny weird ones like Trombone Champ, which lets you experience playing an instrument (badly) without the need for an extra set of plastic in your home. If they could find a way to make the experience still feel engaging without the need of peripherals, maybe there's a chance of it coming back, but I don't have high hopes for this one, even under new management.

Gun

First Game: Gun, 2005 (Developed by Neversoft)

Latest Game: Uh… there's only one game in this IP

Personal Thoughts: I'm kind of surprised with this one. This is an Activision Original, they've had it since before they merged with Blizzard, and during its hayday, it was pretty warmly received, basically got ported to every sku possible at the time, and it's even still available on steam right now. It's certainly a bit on the clunky side, and twenty bucks feels like a lot to be asking for an old PS2 era game… but that's also sidestepping the fact that it also does not have the best portrayal of Native Americans, to the point that it was boycotted by the Association for American Indian Development for the stereotypes portrayed in the game. It's a game that, even in its most recent re-release, still has that problematic element, that was still problematic when the game was released. So yeah, I'm surprised that we haven't seen other games using this IP… but I am surprised that the game is still up for sale in a time where such problematic content is more uncomfortable than ever.

Personal Hopes: I mean, the game might have legs for the future, but you'd have to definitely revamp that image a bit. Go back and start from scratch, with a more sensitive perspective in mind, and maybe there might be some legs to this, but I doubt anything more will be done with this IP. Big publishers don't strike me as really wanting to put the work in to address the insensitive nature of some of the things that were made in the past in hopes of giving such an old IP legs again.

Hearthstone

First Game: Hearthstone, 2014 )Developed and Originally Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Latest Game: Same as above, it's an IP with one game to its name… unless you consider it part of the greater Warcraft ecosystem

Personal Thoughts: Hearthstone is one of those games that I remember thinking was real interesting when I first heard of it, but even after trying it, it didn't grab me. It's longevity at this point is a very good indicator of just how ingrained it is to its players, even if at this point it is nowhere near as large as it once was, at least from the outside looking in.

Personal Hopes: This one's gonna be fine. It's still around, even if it is more in the background nowadays. I don't see a lot of big Hearthstone news circulating is all I'm saying, but the fact that it's still around suggests that it's still profitable enough to keep going and I don't see Microsoft changing that. The reason it's never gotten another game or a sequel or anything is because it's never needed one, and I don't see that changing now. Unless of course, Blizzard decides to apply their current philosophy on Overwatch to this game. We might see some issues then…

Heroes of the Storm

First Game: Heroes of the Storm, 2015 (Developed and Originally Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Latest Game: Yet again, one game here

Personal Thoughts: The game is basically dead at this point, as Blizzard ended development on it and put it into maintenance mode halfway through 2022. Near as I can tell, the game can still be played for now, but a game entering into maintenance mode is never a good sign. I admit, it had a better run than most live service, battle royale, and MOBA games nowadays have. It managed to make it for a full seven years, and most live service games WISH they could last for the better half of a decade at this point. But it was a game that was entering into an over-saturated market, even at the time, and it just didn't have the same sort of draw power that other big crossovers had. At least in my opinion.

Personal Hopes: The idea does have legs. I say that as someone who absolutely loves big, dumb crossover games. I love seeing a bunch of characters from different universes clash together, no matter how little sense it made. Even so though, if this IP wants to have any legs underneath it, I think it should reconsider its status as a MOBA, which at this point is a notoriously hard genre to break into, and maybe, now that they have Microsoft as a parent company, consider throwing in characters from the big M, or the other companies that Microsoft owns. I mean, I'd play a MOBA where I could play as the Doom Slayer, that's for sure. Probably won't happen and I doubt anyone's chomping at the bit to try and revitalize the storm, but the option is always there, and I would love to see another crack at a large-scale crossover.

Heavy Gear

First Game: Heavy Gear, 1997 (Developed and Published by Activision)

Latest Game: Heavy Gear II, 1999 (Developed and Published by Activision)

Personal Thoughts: Did you know that Activision made a pair of really cool mech games based off an old sci-fi tabletop RPG? I sure didn't! And hey, it's once again an activision original, so it's something that's been with them for a good, long while! However, this one is a bit more straightforward, I think. Since the games are based on a pre-existing, cross-media universe held by Dream Pod 9. So the games were only one piece of a much larger universe, including a tactical war game, an RPG, and even a card game. So it's pretty obvious why this one isn't showing up anymore, the rights are probably in flux, probably not helped by the fact that the second game sold like… horribly compared with the first.

Personal Hopes: I don't think we'll be seeing a Heavy Gear game again, even if Activsion still technically holds the publishing rights to video game adaptations. They'd probably have to renegotiate a licensing agreement with the original publisher, and while they're still around, I think their stuff has become a lot more niche than it used to be. Activision isn't the same company that they were back in the 90's, so doing something this niche just isn't seen as something in their wheelhouse anymore, which is a shame. We need more fun mech games out there, and Microsoft has had some success with their own sci-fi games before. But this particular universe? Yeah, I don't see it coming back in today's climate. It's a shame, but this one seems like it would be more of a licensing issue than anyone's willing to go through.

Interstate '76

First Game: Interstate `76, 1997 (Developed and Originally Published by Activision)

Latest Game: Yet another single-game IP

Personal Thoughts: You know, I'm not sure why this one didn't take off. It was a Windows only game in the late 90's, so while it didn't have a massive audience, vehicular combat games did tend to be pretty popular around this time. This was two years after the oriignal Twisted Metal, and the same year as Carmaggeddon after all.

Personal Hopes: Vehicular combat games are kind of a rare breed nowadays. Not entirely unheard of, but not something that shows up very often. It'd be a good time, especially considering that there isn't a huge amount of competition kicking around anymore. Not much else to say on this one, I just think a modern vehicle battle game would be nice.

King's Quest

First Game: King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown, 1984 (Developed and originally published by Sierra On-Line)

Latest Game: King's Quest, 2015 (Developed by The Odd Gentlemen)

Personal Thoughts: I love the old King's Quest games. While the Moon logic needed in order to get through some of the puzzles could grate on the nerves now and then, it's another quintessential adventure series, and the episodic return of the series in 2015 was a fantastic way, I felt, to modernize the old flavor of adventure games. It's both important to the history of the medium and still a beloved example of early adventure games. The fact that it's been so quiet is odd to me, especially with how well the revival went over.

Personal Hopes: The remake didn't see any great big revival for the series going forward, but I do think it was a step in the right direction. King's Quest is probably one of, if not the most well known of Sierra's old adventure game catalogue, and if the Odd Gentleman reimagining is any indication, there are still a lot of interesting stories that could be told in this world and with these characters, or with new characters here and there. The question is, though, Is Microsoft going to indulge more in the colorful, cartoonish games of this sort? I doubt it, but hey, if they gave Battletoads another shot, if only for a single game, if they let the right creative team handle this one, I think an occasional episodic adventure in the kingdom of Daventry wouldn't be too bad.

Laura Bow Mysteries

First Game: The Colonel's Bequest, 1989 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: The Dagger of Amon Ra, 1992 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: Only two games in this series, and this is one of those IP that I would probably call a ‘deep cut.’ It's something that is beloved by those who have experienced it, but that group is fairly small, and the series itself was pretty short lived compared to other Sierra series of the same era, whcih would often get five to six games. I feel like this was one that was hanging out in the background long before Activision acquired Sierra's back catalog.

Personal Hopes: We're probably never going to see this one again. Like I said, there are folks out there who remember these two games very fondly, but in terms of an IP that would be likely to be revived by a major gaming conglomerate? Hate to be blunt, but no, this one is just going to be shoved to the bottom of the pile and they're not going to touch it again. Thankfully, both of the original games are available over on GoG, so who knows, maybe if there's enough interest shown over there, that might change. As it is now though, I just don't think we'll be seeing Ms. Bow or her adventures again any time soon.

The Lost Vikings

First Game:  The Lost Vikings, 1993 (Developed by Silicon & Synapse and Originally Published by Interplay Productions)

Latest Game: The Lost Vikings 2, 1997 (Developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Originally Published by Interplay Productions)

Personal Thoughts: If anyone knows anything about Blizzard's early days, before the Warcrafts and Starcrafts and such, back when they were called Silicon and Synapse, they probably at least know the name of the Lost Vikings, one of the first puzzle platformers I ever played growing up. I never got very far into it when I was a wee lad, but damn was it fun. And while I knew it had a sequel, I was kind of surprised that we didn't see more of it later down the line. But nope, two games is all we get, and while this series has cropped back up in recent years, thrown into the Blizzard Arcade Collection… which is digital only and feels like it only exists to sort of remind people of some really obscure IP that Blizzard owns? It's strange.

Personal Hopes: This is one that I really hope would be coming back at one point or another. While multi-character puzzle games aren't really unique nowadays. Things like a Tale of Two Brothers, Toodee and Topdee, and of course multiplayer experiences in the same vein like It Takes Two, but I don't feel like it's a particularly oversaturated genre, and LV's take on it with three different characters, or even more given the other characters introduced in the second game, might even make it stick out. I think this is something that could have legs in the future, so I think it's something that could come back, though again, I don't see it being a very high profile production if it does return.

Overwatch

First Game: Overwatch, 2016 (Developed and Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Latest Game: Overwatch 2, 2022 (Developed and Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Personal Thoughts: I don't think I'll be adding much to the conversation on this one. I'm aware that Overwatch still has its fans, but from the perspective of someone who has watched Blizzard and Activision slowly piss away all of the good will and good press that the game got upon launch, I feel comfortable in saying that this is the first time I've ever watched someone take a diamond and just grind it into dust in front of my eyes. I don't think it's necessarily going anywhere for right now, but it just feels like Blizzard has been slowly removing all of the personality out of this game and this franchise. It bothers me because when the game first launch, it really felt like it set itself apart, and pretty much all of the characters were, at least from an aesthetic and personality point of view, interesting and unique. I can't comment on how the gameplay has changed since then since I never played the game, I'll leave that to someone who knows what they're talking about, but purely from the standpoint of how the game's image has been handled, even disregarding the company's overall behavior (and you really shouldn't disregard Blizzard's overall behavior), man did they screw this one up royal.

Personal Hopes: I'm begging you, just do something with a more coherent storyline. Make a more traditional shooter. Give folks what you initially promised for the sequel's story mode as something like a standalone game or something like that. These designs are too good to just waste away in a hero shooter that I've only heard people describe as aggressively mid since the sequel came out.

Phantasmagoria

First Game: Phantasmagoria, 1995 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: I know that a lot of older media tends to not age particularly well as our understanding of certain social stigmas and the history of other peoples in relation to ourselves comes to light as time marches on, but I thing Phantasmagoria and its sequel are two excellent examples of just how poorly a game's content can age. These FMV games were both made with the purposes of rocking the boat, being very dark and touching on subject matter that games nowadays really don't want to touch upon, especially from major AAA publishers. I haven't played these games in years now, well before I developed any sense of social grace for myself, which probably means I was too young to have been playing them in the first place, so I can't say just how poorly they've aged, but I do know that i think back to my own experience with the games and it makes me shudder a little bit.

Personal Hopes: It's an FMV game series from the 90's that does have some merit to the history of the genre, if only for the risks it took in its subject matter, but the fact that it hasn't aged well, FMV games are seen more as memetic throwbacks nowadays, and the fact that the subject matter the games were famous for probably wouldn't fly today. Horror games in their many different iterations are seeing a big resurgence in popularity and while games nowadays can push the envelope at least a bit in terms of their content, I don't think invoking an actually controversial PC game from the 90's would be something they'd want to do.

Pitfall

First Game: Pitfall!, 1982 (Developed and Published by Activision)

Latest Game: Pitfall! 2012 (Developed by The Blast Furnace)

Personal Thoughts: I had no idea this series… was actually a series. Pitfall to me has always just been one game, the original Atari game that helped to codify the platforming genre, but no, there were several games released, all the way up to the PS2 era, and then it just sort of drifted off into history, with the last game using the IP that I can find being an endless runner from 2012.

Personal Hopes: Again, I don't see this coming back in any sort of big way. While the endless runner is no longer available, the original Atari Pitfall is available on Android at least, but pitfall could maybe make a comeback as a Tomb Raider or Uncharted style game, but we already have Tomb Raider and Uncharted for that and Pitfall has more of a historical legacy than a big brand identity, so not much hope there.

Police Quest

First Game: Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel, 1987 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game:  SWAT Elite Troops, 2008 (Developed by Rovio Mobile, Originally Published by Vivendi Games Mobile)

Personal Thoughts: One of Sierra's classic adventure series that wasn't meant to be more on the comedic or fanciful side of things, Police Quest was well known for being a proper police procedural game; if you didn't follow the rules and proper protocol, you could end up bricking your game for something as simple as not showing your badge before you started questioning a suspect. It was wild, and a hell of a lot more involved than it ever had to be. I applaud the older games for their wish to stay as accurate as possible to the idea of being a cop, but I do feel that it makes the series kind of impenetrable to anyone who didn't grow up with it.

Personal Hopes: I don't think that this series would come back in any form mostly because the series is pure copaganda. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of that in video games and in media in general. Video games in particular have a real problem with fetishizing how awesome the American military is, for example. Now, if they brought it back and gave the series a seedier bent, I think it would be more interesting, maybe something more along the lines of This is The Police. However, I don't see it coming back in its original incarnation. I don't think stories where cops are portrayed as the out and out good guys resonate with a lot of folks of my generation and below, and while we do have examples of games where being organized and filing paperwork can be enjoyable (Papers Please, and Death and Taxes come to mind), I don't think a police procedural where missing even a single step in a lengthy process could kill a run hours beforehand is what folks are really looking for these days.

Prototype

First Game: Prototype, 2009 (Developed by Radical Entertainment)

Latest Game: Prototype 2, 2012 (Developed by Radical Entertainment)

Personal Thoughts: Edgy generic duology all about binary good and evil choices as well as some really well done animations and transformations and powers that you can attain as the game goes on, along with a free-roaming map hiding a bunch of secrets. There was an explosion of stuff like this at around the same time when the first game came out. The same year we had Assassin's Creed 2 and the original Infamous, so it simultaneously came out at the perfect time for a game of its type, and yet at the same time, I feel like it was always just sort of in the background and never really did much to stick out. I actually remember thinking for the longest time that this game was coming out of Ubisoft for some reason.

Personal Hopes: The second game, which came out 3 years after the first, apparently underperformed so badly that it was used as the justification to lay off a lot of the people at Radical, and turn it into an assistant studio for their large projects, primarily COD. It's one of those series that I see as a creation of its time, and I can see Microsoft showing some interest in the property given Xbox's perceived base. It's a shame that Radical Design wouldn't get another crack at it, since they're probably busy helping others with their own projects, and while I don't see it happening any time soon, I do think that this might be something that could see some sort of revival under a new regime. Maybe.

Quest for Glory

First Game: Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero, 1989 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, 1998 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: This is the other big-name adventure series from Sierra, right up there with King's Quest, and while it didn't run quite as long, it has quite a big legacy, and is just as famous for it's many, many quirky death scenes, much like King's Quest, but often with a more personal bent to it with the ability to choose your class and customize your main character a little bit, with stats that can actually effect how you have to approach some of the puzzles, many of which have multiple ways of solving them to account for your stats, but it also allows for a certain level of creativity on the part of the player.

Personal Hopes: I do hope we see another one of these games in the future. We're inundated with a lot of games that have binary choices that affect the game superficially, but what I would love to see would be an adventure game more along what they did with the King's Quest revival, which did something similar, giving players multiple ways to complete a task depending on what sort of virtue you were going for. I think there's more fun to be had here, and while it's been a while since the King's Quest revamp, I think this would be a logical follow-up.

Singularity

First Game: Singularity, 2010 (Developed by Raven Software)

Latest Game: Yep, one game again. One could say that this particular IP is very… Singular?… where'd everyone go?

Personal Thoughts: It's a shooter for the PS3, during that horrid time where the brown and beige shooter kind of ruled the world, where because they could do pretty realistic, for the time, graphics, well, the real world isn't super colorful, so let's make our future-war, realistic world really boring to look at. Singularity, while its looks didn't really set it apart from a lot of the other military shooters that were out at the time, but it does at least have some mechanics that set it apart, with a sci-fi/horror bent to it that seems the main character hopping back and forth through different points in time. But even with that, I kind of see why this one didn't spawn a franchise. It sort of disappeared into the same sea that a lot of other shooters of the time sank into.

Personal Hopes: I think this does have a chance to come back. Shooters are still big business, but we aren't quite drowning in the genre as much as we were back during the PS3 and 360 era. And while we've seen these sorts of time manipulation mechanics before, a fresh start for the series, a shooter that keeps the ability to jump between time and place, that could work. It could be like Bioshock Infinite if the dimension hopping were an actual gameplay element instead of regulated to set pieces or story moments. The odds of it happening are slim, since the IP has languished for 14 years, but hey, there's a spark of an idea there.

Ski Resort Tycoon

First Game: Ski Resort Tycoon, 2000 (Developed by Cat Daddy Games)

Latest Game: Ski Resort Tycoon II, 2000 (Developed by Cat Daddy Games)

Personal Thoughts: The idea behind the Tycoon game has kind of fallen off in recent years. The idea of owning and operating a very specific business as sort of a faceless CEO who makes all the big decisions, fires and hires the people, and makes decisions about how your business operates. There are a ton of these now, from developers of various sizes, and of various levels of quality and seriousness. That is to say nothing of those tycoon games that have their own series in and of themselves. It's a bit of a mess, all things considered.

Personal Hopes: There are. So many. Tycoon games. Don't believe me? Go on steam and just search Tycoon and take a look at how many games pop up, and what sort of themes and businesses and ideas they use. Then think about something as basic as Ski Resort Tycoon being brought back. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but even with the backing of major names like Activision or Microsoft, I don't see it doing much, especially not when there are just… SO MANY alternatives to something like this, and I don't know if a Ski Resort sim would be able to stand up against them in terms of interest. Maybe something niche, but ‘niche’ is a bit of a dirty word in the AAA game industry.

Skylanders

First Game: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, 2011 (Developed by Toys for Bob)

Latest Game: Skylanders: Ring of Heroes, 2018 (Developed by Com2Us)

Personal Thoughts: It's kind of hard to believe how hard Toys-to-Life has flopped in the last few years. Wasn't that long ago that it felt like everyone was trying to get in on this grift, and now we're at a point where no one's really doing it anymore beyond Nintendo, and the only real reason it feels like Nintendo's held onto it is because their characters are recognizable enough that people outside of the game sphere are interested in them… and they can be used across a bunch of different games. At least, some of them can. Point is, they aren't locked down to a single game or series the way that something like Disney Infinity or Starlink or Skylanders was. Skylanders was the first big one that I remember coming out, the first one to really sink its teeth into kids, and while the series basically never changed much from just being a series of basic beat-em-ups for children, they were decent enough for what they were, if a little on the slow side. Each new game tried its best to have a new gimmick with the toys to keep giving people a reason to keep investing in more plastic around the house. The problem was there was just too much plastic…

Personal Hopes: As far as games aimed at a younger audience, they weren't terrible, but there were a lot of them in a very short amount of time. From 2011 to 2018, with the exception of one year, there was at least one new Skylanders game a year, and with them, a deluge of new toys to grab. It flooded the market all on its own, even before competition started to appear. This isn't going to come back, at least not in its original form. It lived on as a mobile property for a while, which as much as I hate the mobile market, it does fit right in with. The multitude of characters and heroes makes it a natural fit for the Gacha style of a lot of those sorts of games, but as it originally was? No. It even attempted to branch out into other genres briefly with stuff like the racing game Super Chargers, and from what I recall, that did next to nothing. Skylanders, I think, is done, and Activision doesn't seem in a hurry to try exploiting kids again, at least not on the console market.

Soldier of Fortune

First Game: Soldier of Fortune, 2000 (Developed by Raven Software)

Latest Game: Soldier of Fortune: Payback, 2007 (Developed by Cauldron HQ)

Personal Thoughts: I'm not really sure what to say about this one. I didn't play it at all, though it was a series that started before the PS3 shooter flood, and I understand that it was pretty well liked for the fact that enemies would react differently depending on which area of the body they were shot in. It did well enough to get a couple of sequels, and a very short lived MMO FPS (only released in Korea), but apart from that, was there anything that set it apart from its contemporaries or the contemporaries of its sequels?

Personal Hopes: Again, I haven't played any of the SoF games, so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but from the outside looking in, I'm not seeing anything that would really set this one apart from the shooters that we have today. And I'm not saying that ‘Call of Duty’ is a title that really stands out in a crowd, but ‘Soldier of Fortune’ feels just as generalized and generic, but without the massive sales numbers to keep itself in the limelight. So I really don't think Microsoft would bother trying to pull this one out of obscurity.

Space Quest

First Game: Space Quest I, 1986 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: Space Quest 6, 1995 (Developed and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: This series was to science fiction what King's Quest was to fantasy, though I often feel like it somehow managed to be even more absurd than the series that was based around a fairy tale land where magic bridles could turn snakes into horses and sugar cubes could make you invincible. It was fantastic.

Personal Hopes: I would love to see a revival of the main series of this. And again, I feel like the King's Quest reboot would work for it. However, it should be noted that the original co-creators of this series have, after a long decade of development are allegedly close to releasing Spaceventure, a spiritual successor to the series. as it hasn't released publicly yet, I can't say whether or not it measures up to that moniker, and the fact that it took so long to develop doesn't help matters. While I'm always excited to see developers try and give us a well loved, long absent series successor, but I will always hope to see the series itself make a return as well. There is, in my mind, room for all these games to coexist, even if they only reach a niche audience. It's just a shame that Microsoft and Activision think differently.

Spyro

First Game: Spyro the Dragon, 1998 (Developed by Insomniac Games and Originally Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

Latest Game: Spyro Reignited Trilogy, 2018 (Developed by Toys for Bob)

Personal Thoughts: This one is pretty similiar to the Crash Bandicoot situation. Popular series, goes through a lot of hard times, ends up with Activision, they make a few cursory attempts to cash in, including using his name and likeness to help jumpstart the Skylanders franchise, but otherwise has allowed the series to remain dormant, until Crash Bandicoot's successful revival. A few years later, hey, Spyro gets the same treatment with the Reignited Trilogy, which does ‘well’ according to Activision in its launch window. And now… now he and a few of the other characters from his games are DLC for Crash Team Rumble.

Personal Hopes: This is another one that just makes me made. At least Crash got managed to get one brand new game out of the deal after his revival. Spyro? He got the revival treatment just in time for the studios that helped make it to get turned into CoD assistance studios and now for all we know, the series has once again gone dormant. You had a perfect setup to continue that train of success, and you blew it, ActiBlizz. Fuck you. Microsoft could, maybe do something with the series, like Crash, and I pray that they do, but considering their reluctance to do anything with other beloved kid-friendly characters they've acquired over the years (hello Banjo-Kazooie), all I can do right now is just hope.

Starcraft

First Game: Starcraft, 1998 (Developed and Originally Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Latest Game: Starcraft: Remastered, 2017 (Developed and Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Personal Thoughts: The sci-fi equivalent to Warcraft, and still a major beloved series for Blizzard, despite not really getting a truely new game since 2010. Starcraft II received a LOT of expansions from 2013-2016, and then we got a remaster of the original Starcraft the year after, but that's been it. And why would they need anything else new? Starcraft and its sequel is still played really often, it's doing just fine, to the point where Blizzard even did a good back in 2017 and made the original Starcraft (the non-remastered version), the Brood War expansion, and the vanilla version of Starcraft II completely free, if you download and play it from Blizzard's website over on Battle Net. And guess what? As of my writing this sentence, they are still available for free there! That's honestly nice to see.

Personal Hopes: I don't think that we have to worry about Starcraft going anywhere for a good long while, as its popularity as a competitive RTS game keeps legs underneath it, and ActiBlizz's willingness to keep a majority of the game free for people to play at their leisure (so long as they're playing using their proprietary launcher of course) has no doubt done a lot to keep the game fresh in people's consciousness. However, five years have gone by without any sort of new games or even new expansions for the existing games, and I worry that once people start to get tired of what they have (and they will, no game sticks around forever) that there won't be another new game on the horizon for the series. I don't think that's going to happen any time soon, but it is an inevitability that I think should be accounted for. I mean, they could always try to expand it out to other genres… might be a good time to revive Starcraft Ghosts, yeah? 

Tenchu (Kinda)

First Game: Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, 1998 (Developed by Acquire)

Latest Game: Tenchu: Shadow Assassins, 2008 (Developed by Acquire)

Personal Thoughts: I wasn't entirely sure if I should add this one because technically speaking, Actiblizz, and therefore Microsoft, don't own the Tenchu IP itself, instead, they only own the games that they publushed before they sold the rights to the IP to FromSoftware in 2004. So while they can't make new games, they do have the rights to a lot of the classic Tenchu library. But I don't think they're doing anything with the games that they actually own.

Personal Hopes: I just hope that they make the games that they have the rights to available to find. Throw them up on game pass or put them together in a collection or something along those lines. I did check all of the digital storefronts I could think of (Steam, Playstation Store, Xbox Game Pass, etc.) and I could not find a single Tenchu game, Activision-owned or otherwise, so at least for now, it seems like the entire series is basically locked to physical. If I'm mistaken there, I do apologize, but I genuinely could not find a legitimate place to purchase any of the games in the series digitally at this point in time.

TimeShift

First Game: TimeShift, 2007 (Developed by Saber Interactive and Originally Published by Vivendi Games)

Latest Game: Single game IP again. Lot more of these than I thought there would be, to be honest.

Personal Thoughts: This was another one that came around during that infamous PS3 and 360 glut of shooters all trying to vye for the top of the shooter stack. Considering that this was the only game in its IP, that didn't work out too well. Whatever information I've managed to find on the game suggest that it really did not have the best development cycle, changing publishers, and being delayed multiple times, eventually just dropping out of the news cycle entirely and missing a lot of hype because of that. And after all of that, the game only really managed to do ‘okay’ which is pretty unexceptional when it comes to AAA gaming.

Personal Hopes: I really don't know what to say here. Like other shooters I've highlighted in this list, I just don't think this will be something that comes back. The idea itself does have some legs, and without having to compete with a glut of other shooters, it might have some legs to stand on, but with Gears of War, Halo, and Call of Duty all under the same roof, TimeShift's chances of getting another roll of the dice doesn't seem very likely.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

First Game: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, 1999 (Developed by Neversoft)

Latest Game: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, 2020 (Developed by Vicarious Visions)

Personal Thoughts: The fact that the latest release of this series is also a remaster of the first two games kind of shows how much staying power the original formula has, as the series sort of got bogged down in itself as time went on, relying more and more on outlandish comedy and scenarios, or gimmicks like the plastic board controllers for Ride and Shred, the horrible online for Pro Skater 5, or even just getting off the skateboard and running around the environment in several of the later games. Going back to basics was probably one of the smarter things they could have done with the series, but…

Personal Hopes: Given Activision's track record when it comes to remaking or remastering classic or beloved titles, to much fanfare, and then just not capitalizing on that to reintroduce new entries in the series to a new generation, so while I'd love to see more classic style, smaller skating games. I know that the status of the Tony Hawk license name has been a bit in flux as of late, so a rebrand might potentially be in the works as well. Maybe.

True Crime

First Game: True Crime: Streets of LA, 2003 (Developed by Luxoflux)

Latest Game: True Crime: New York City, 2005 (Developed by Luxoflux)

Personal Thoughts: A duology of open world games where you play as law enforcement in the named city. They're pretty close in gameplay to the GTA games of the time, something that the first game actually got favorable comparison for. First game was mixed in reviews, but did financially well, second game wasn't so lucky. Other than that, the only cool thing I can find about the series is that the cancellation of a proposed third game taking place in Hong Kong led to the creation of Sleeping Dogs over at Square Enix.

Personal Hopes: If the failure of the second game wasn't enough to state that this series probably isn't coming back any time soon, there's the fact that we don't really see a lot of GTA-esque games anymore that aren't GTA. Saint's Row did attempt a comback recently and unfortunately that didn't pan out well. Doesn't seem like there's a huge amount of open world city games anymore. There's also the fact, and I'll admit, I don't know how much this would effect their ability to make a new True Crime game, but apparently Activision basically abandoned the trademark for the series. If that doesn't say that they aren't really interested in this series anymore, I don't know what does.

Ultimate Soccer Manager

First Game: Ultimate Soccer Manager, 1995 (Developed by Impressions Games and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Latest Game: Ultimate Soccer Manager '98, 1998 (Developed by Impressions Games and Originally Published by Sierra Online)

Personal Thoughts: I have absolutely no interest in sports games at the best of times, unless they have some sort of gimmick or are more arcade in nature. Closest thing to lrea life sports games I play are things like Mutant League Football or Mario Tennis. Even with my bias, I just don't think this will be coming back any time soon. First, this is a pretty niche idea. Sports fans like the fantasy of playing on their favorite team, or being able to put all their favorite players on one team, but it's a very specific group of people who wants to be more a part of the management side of things. Add to it, making sports games nowadays is difficult mostly due to the fact that Electronic Arts still holds a monopoly on most popular sports league licenses, and if you want a game to sell well, you either need to have the backing of an organization within the sport (NBA, NHL, FIFA, ETC), you need a well known character or franchise that can help draw in people who aren't necessarily sports fans (See the Mario sports games), or you have to have a really well executed gimmick that intrigues people to try out the game. As someone who doesn't travel in sports game circles, I unfortunately do not have a good example of this last one. Maybe the Pangya series? Even though that really is just anime golf… still fun though.

Personal Hopes: Even if this were a game that was aimed at me, I really don't think that it will be coming back because it's a topic that's very niche. Playing a sport in a video game has a certain amount of appeal to it that even folks that aren't necessarily fans of the sport can appreciate, but being hit with the management side of the sport, that is, I feel, much more niche, though admittedly it's a niche without a lot of competition. There's Sega Football Manager, but that's about it, and like… maybe you could branch out into other sports? Maybe? How have I put so many words into this particular game?

Warcraft/World of Warcraft

First Game: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, 1994 (Developed and Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Latest Game: Warcraft Rumble, 2023 (Developed and Published by Blizzard Entertainment)

Personal Thoughts: You all know what Warcraft is, I hope. Out of anything that has Blizzard's name on it, Warcraft, or probably more accurately, World of Warcraft, is what most folk are going to think of when the company is brought up. WoW has fluctuated in both quality and popularity over the years, but it's always been near the top of the MMO pile, and is even still getting brand new updates and expansions about twenty years after its original launch. That's staying power. Or maybe stockholm syndrome depending on how you look at it. The original Warcraft series though, that hasn't been given nearly as much love as the MMO. Last year we did have that tower defense mobile game, Warcraft Rumble, and before that, there was the disastrous launch of the remake of Warcraft 3, but in terms of brand new RTS games, discounting the mobile games and the remake, there hasn't been a new Warcraft game as in a full PC/console game release since 2003. Hearthstone was a phenomenon for a time as well I suppose, but that's also sort of fallen off.

Personal Hopes: Look, WoW might not be quite as big as it once was, but it's still a very big, reliable money maker for the company, but when it comes to the main Warcraft games, I don't think we'll be seeing a new one of those beyond mobile games for a long while, especially with how poorly the whole remaster fiasco went over. I'd love to see the series go back to other genres that aren't just relegated to mobile games that may or may not be around a few years down the line, of course, as things stand, I don't see that happening any time soon, not while there isn't a reason to end the stagnation.

Zork

First Game: Zork, 1977 (Developed by Infocom and Originally Published by Personal Software)

Latest Game: Zork III, 1982 (Developed by Infocom and Originally Published by Personal Software)

Personal Thoughts: I have not played the Zork games. I know them more from cultural osmosis than anything else, and of course that's mostly just that one memetic line that continues to crop up every now and then. Zork was a series of three (or four?) text adventure games, back before even the most rudimentary of graphics was standard for games of this nature, and I think that lack of any sort of visual element to it is what really made it a special series. It was a weird and wonderful story that required a lot of imagination to make sense of what you were reading and seeing, and how best to react to whatever you're faced with. Of course, every text adventure is like this, but Zork's quirky and charming descriptions really helped to set it apart from everything. Again, I'm going off of what little I've seen of the games, as I've never experienced a full playthrough of them, but what I have seen is very fun and clever, if a little bonkers sounding out of context.

Personal Hopes: Zork is a pretty legendary series, but considering how long the IP has existed, and the fact that it perpetually has existed in this one singular for maybe suggests that no one really knows how to bring this series back. A text adventure on its own, no matter how well written and no matter what the attached IP is, I don't think would pull a lot of interest in a medium that's come to be so heavily defined by its visuals, save for a small niche audience. For an indie production, that would probably be enough to be satisfying, but not for a company as big as Activision or Microsoft. Zork is a nostalgia name, but not much else, and I don't see it losing that distinction any time soon.

Closing Thoughts

This was a lot longer than I thought it would be. Apparently I couldn't shut up about all this stuff. It was also incredibly sobering to go through as I realized, going through all of these games that the odds of a lot of them coming back in one form or another is pretty unlikely, even re-releases. 

I did my best to find as many IP that activision definitively own as possible, but I would not be surprised if I missed any, and I did make some exceptions like with Tenchu, which they only kind of own and can't actually make new games for. And yet, despite that, they're doing nothing with the games they do own, which is honestly just as annoying. Through my explorations of Actiblizz's back catalog (and there were plenty of places to look, considering that a lot of news sites were quick to put out lists outlining what Microsoft now owned), I did find a few that I wasn't entirely sure about and therefore did not include on this list. The two big ones that came up multiple times in my scouring were the Hexen and Heretic games. These two showed up on lists of IP microsoft gained in the Actiblizz acquisition, and yet when I looked up the series' myself, it seemed to suggest that they were currently owned and developed by Id software, which is currently owned by Bethesda, which is owned by Zenimax, which was gobbled up by Microsoft not long ago anyway. Either way, the games end up owned by Microsoft, so in the long run it doesn't matter, but I'm confused as to why these games kept coming up as something that Activision had ownership of when I couldn't find any conclusive information on whether or not they actually owned any of this.

While it was kind of depressing to see all these various IPs that are just laying dormant, I do have to remind myself that indie games have been picking up the slack. Despite this, one can't help but wonder what the added budget or manpower of a larger developer could do for classic series currently left out in the cold. I hold out hope for a few of these coming back at some point, but with the current corporate attitude of making nothing but absolutely massive blockbusters that have to sell millions of copies to be considered successes, and that are focus tested to hell and back to cast the widest possible net and get as many folks on board as possible, rather than taking a chance on a low-budget niche game… even though the risk would be low if the scope of the game was kept small and it was aimed at a specific audience, but hey who would want a more diverse portfolio made of more quickly produced smaller experiences that reach a smaller audience but overall would serve a wider demographic thanks to the variety?

Me.

I want that.

Do that, game industry.

And pay your fucking workers better.

[jerseymichaels]

I don’t really know where to start this or what I’m even going to say, because quite frankly I still haven’t processed everything and my emotions are so all over the place it’s going to be hard to write a coherent thought. But I dunno- I just feel like venting and ranting.

I started watching AH in 2011. 11 years ago. It’s weird to say that- it never felt like it was that long. They’ve been a constant in my life, they were there for pretty much every rough patch I had in those 11 years. It’s hard to look at how much they helped me keep going now, but they really truly did.

In 2013 I lost my grandmother. AH was there. In 2014 I was mentally and verbally abused and AH was there. In 2015 I started college and AH got me through every single stressful, insane year of it. They were even a lot of my inspiration in the art projects I turned in for classes. In the summer of 2019 I fell into crippling, all-consuming depression and if it weren’t for AH (and the people I met through the community) I honestly might not be here today.

In 2020, it all crashed down around me when all of the horrid things Ryan had done came out. He was a lot of the reason I was involved in the community- I started watching his streams, and then made a Twitter, then a Tumblr. I almost walked away then. I told myself it might be best to keep my distance. In the end I found myself going back to all of my favorite comfort videos of theirs (sans-Ryan of course) and knew I really wasn’t going anywhere. They had just helped me through too much. I couldn’t walk away.

And now we’re here, in 2022. Everything that was said by them, about fostering a healthy workplace and environment… about treating everyone as equals… saying they were going to make changes… empty promises. It was all so hollow. Every single time I check Twitter, or Tumblr, or Reddit, there’s always a new horror story from a former employee.

I’m so disappointed that I ever supported them. I can admit my relationship with them was unhealthy at points, and I knew it and didn’t do anything to distance myself more until 2021- and even then I still had a first subscription and watched some videos every week. Earlier this year I went to RTX, something I’d dreamed of since I learned it existed, and genuinely had one of the greatest weekends of my life. All of those memories feel so tainted now. Looking at the badge makes me feel kind of gross now, to be honest, though I know I bought it before I knew the truth.

I’m grappling really hard with letting go of RT. I absolutely will because the last thing I’d ever want to do is give this company any more of my support after all they’ve done… but it’s so god damn hard. They’ve meant so much for me for so long. I’ve made some of my best friends through the community, and even met my now-fiancé. Obviously my relationships with them have become removed from the community sphere, but it’s still where the root of our friendship came from. It sucks that the way that I met some of the most important people in my life is tainted now.

Keeping this blog as a Michael blog is even making me feel a little weird and guilty- even though Kdin forgave him and he wouldn’t have any hand in the wage theft/other company issues. I dunno, I’m just not sure if it’s still respectful, or if I should just get rid of this blog. It’s a tough line to draw.

I just really don’t know, man.

[camerawhoisalsocam]

"A rwby critic and a longtime dc fan" Hate to break it to you?

But RWBY manages to stay consistent. DC? Where do we even begin on their retcons.

Look, if you wanna whine and complain, that's fine. But at the end of the day, Monty , Miles, Kerry? At least their work is forever in progress.

All you people do is insult them on social media and then wonder why people won't listen to you after you complain. People enjoyed the crossover, and part 2 will be there soon.

And unlike you, the rest of us intend to enjoy things...which, as a critic, I understand that's rather difficult.

First things first thanks for being my first anon I honestly didn't know if I had it turned on or not. Also congratulations for being my first rwby related braindead anon, now I know I've made it. Now onto the response

Rwby has consistency? Yeah its consistently disappointing and dogshit. Trust me I know all about DC's retcons, bad stories, nonsensical decisions that the writers make that make the characters worse. Wanna know the difference between RWBY and DC? Rwby has had only a few interpretations, the main canon, the crossover, ice queendom, the books, the antholgy manga, a few comics (some being dc crossovers again), and rwby chibi. And half of those can even be considered pseudo canon. With DC? They have had DECADES of comics, movies, cartoons, TV shows, and all sorts of different adoptions. Because DC is bigger they can have alot of bad, but SOOOO MUCH more good.

Next up, dont bring Monty into this. I wont discredit his work and im not gonna say "this wasnt how he wanted rwby" or anything like this. Let the guy be. This is specifically going towards Miles and Kerry, I wanna have faith they're good people, twitter says otherwise for Miles. I know they can make some decent writing, early rwby, camp camp, they even wrote some of RVB. They haven't made anything good nowadays which is why im mad, I know they can write but keep fucking up!

And if your gonna say all I do is whine and complain maybe you should remember that your complaining about the opinion of some random guy on the internet. But hey you arent completely whining your giving a passive aggressive anonymous ask.

If people like the crossover, good. Im glad someone can find some good in a film and series I dont like. I may not have enjoyed the crossover but get good on you for finding it enjoying. I know why people dont listen to us "whiners" its cuz we hurt their feelings and were big mean cyber bullies. Im a dude on the internet, why the hell should you take it so seriously. What did you think I'd take you seriously as well? I know the real reason why rwby fans dont listen, its cuz RT doesn't listen. They dont see the genuine harm in their writing or dont want to acknowledge it and so their fans piggyback off their mentality. You fans dont listen because RT has their heads so far up their asses they think that RWBY will do fine because there's brain rotted fans like you who'll defend this hot garbage and do nothing but constantly try and shit on people who have an opinion. And quite frankly I think my opinion is right

Dont call yourself a critic, I dont know jackshit about you so for all I know your a fellow cave troll. Reply without the anon button and prove it next time. I know im not a professional writer or critic, I say that I am since im just been watching both franchises, im a dude on tumblr, dont take that part seriously. But I do know how to form an opinion on what I like and what I think is terribly written schlock thats being defended by fans who have a weird symbiotic relationship with a company that will treat their fans like shit.

So all in all, cope. I dont like the dogshit crossover, Miles and Kerry's writing sucks now, and you've officially made my morning. Thanks for stopping by anon. Next time RWBY makes something good for once i'll actually talk about how I like it, maybe with some criticism but hey, nothings perfect. I understand thats rather difficult to understand

[dah-bat-len]

RT Do Better

Hey so I’ve been a fan of RT for 15 years, since I was thirteen this company has made me laugh and was a daily part of me. My heart is broken. I don’t want to go cold turkey, so don’t shame me, but I’ll ease my way out while my first is still active. But now, with all this coming out, I just can’t do it anymore. 

 Like I hesitated in 2020, when all the worst shit was coming out about certain nameless individuals. I thought about it, but I needed RT to get me through the day. I still make time out of my day for an AH or STF video now and then, but it’s not nearly enough to keep me giving them money right now. 

RT needs to change. SERIOUS AND REAL CHANGE. No more of this bullshit, half ass vague apology shit that doesn’t mean anything. No first membership from me and, as I’ve seen, many others. YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY GO TO HR AND HR SHOULD DO ITS FUCKING JOB. YOU SHOULD PAY ALL YOUR EMPLOYEES FAIRLY. 

I don’t even know what to say about the Achievement Hunter news, because watching that group, then and now, has always brought me the utmost joy. I’m angered by the “apologies” but if Kdin forgave Michael, seriously or performatively, that is her decision. But overall...

I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

[solardragun]

"better not catch any of y'all still supporting the company after all this. y'all yelled at and harassed everyone who spoke out about the lgbtphobia that rt displayed, trying to convince everyone that this company is super progressive and diverse. looks like they’re not as progressive as you thought." So why'd you keep watching RWBY? Even if not directly, promoting fanworks and generally talking about it does support Rooster Teeth if by exposure alone.

and who says i still do? i've long since stopped watching it since the travesty that was v8 and s2 of genlock. BUT i will admit that even though i was severely disappointed in everything they did, like everyone else i had hope they would grow out of this abusive and frat boy mentality they seem to be stuck in. i've explained it before but i did want them to get better and grow as people and actually make an effort. now though? this is just way too much to forgive or wish that they'll get better because it's clear they won't.

however, like my friends who also have rwby aus, i'm not throwing away years of actual hard work, especially when i'm proud of the story we've created. just as many people rewrite franchises like harry potter or twilight, especially because the creators behind them are garbage, i'm gonna do the same.

plus i mean, even if we all dropped everything rt, including talking about it and shutting down all our blogs, it wouldn't make a difference. the ones who continue to popularize rwby are the creators behind it, fans or not. just like jkr still makes big bucks off harry potter bc of directors and showrunners and producers.

[dragynkeep]

From my understanding they're only affiliating with RT because every other merch store platform has been giving them trouble at the time they moved over there, and were only invited to panel at RTX one time. Last I checked, they aren't officially part of the RT brand and are just really using their store to sell their own merch.

But James and Chelsea have always been understanding and staunch supporters of BIPOC and LGBTQA+ communities, so if enough people present them with the evidence (and there's plenty of that) and calmly explain, they'll probably try make arrangements with other stores as soon as they can.

that eases some of my initial worry: i was confused cause like you said, chelsea & james have always been so vocally supportive of bipoc & queer voices, to partner with a company like rooster teeth even for some stickers seemed anti ethical to who they were.

definite emphasis on the calmly! i've already sent an email to their business email with various evidence & an explanation of why this is disappointing to see as a supporter of the channel / dangerous to the communities they support.

let's hope they find a better place to host their stickers soon cause they are really cute!

[alfryco]

What's your take on the rt drama.

Gonna be real with u anon, and I know u sent this a day or so ago but I didn't know how to answer and more things have come to light since then, but I'm just overall disappointed and worried with what's going to happen from here on out. Honestly the whole situation just makes me feel numb because a company I thought was a good and wholesome place (which was fucking stupid on my part) has turned out, and has been for a long time, a place that's just as scummy as the next big US capitalistic corporation. I still love AH and will probably still support them in whatever ways I find out how too, but right now I'm just disappointed.

[allofthebees]

You don't like Rooster Teeth anymore?

I haven't rlly liked any of rt or ah's content for a few years. Used to watch rt podcast every week until Burnie left. I watched all of ah up until maybe 2016-17? And then little bit when Fiona came along, I loved her a lot but I still barely watched and then stopped all together again when she left. My relationship w RWBY is that I don't watch it but I'll reblog Bumblby stuff lol and I enjoy rvb seasons 1-14 and I listen to Face Jam and that's about it tbh.

I barely kept up w much of what was going on w the company itself these past few yrs (except the Ryan shit. Fuck him), but I didn't know it was getting THAT bad like I literally thought they had been improving and finding out that it's still a garbage place to be is fucking disappointing. That was my dream job as a kid.

I still like some of the ppl in the company, but the company itself fucking sucks and I hope those ppl can get their money and book it soon.