Red Vs. Blue’s Final Story Gets a Release Date

A scene from Red vs. Blue: Restoration, the final story in the groundbreaking machinima series and the last planned release from Austin's Rooster Teeth online studio (Image Courtesy of Rooster Teeth)

Fans of Rooster Teeth, Austin’s groundbreaking online studio, have been grieving since news broke it was shutting down. Now there’s a chance to say goodbye this May with the final story of the iconic machinima series, Red vs. Blue.

The show, created by studio cofounder Burnie Burns in 2003, started as gamer buddies telling jokes over footage from Xbox first-person shooter Halo. Over 21 years and 18 seasons, it developed an elaborate mythology about two rival squads (Red and Blue, natch) engaged in an everlasting and often idiotic conflict, and their antics garnered a huge fan base. Last July, the company announced there would be a 19th and final season. This conclusion would mark the return of Burns as writer (who left the company in 2020) and longtime director/writer Matt Hullum as director.

However, when management announced on March 6 that Rooster Teeth would be winding down, this left an unanswered question of if and when season 19 – titled “Restoration” – would be available. Now, fans have an answer: The final volume will be released by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu, and other platforms to buy ($14.99) on May 7, and then will be available to rent ($4.99) from May 21. And, in equally big news, the season has been reedited to be a feature with an 87 minute run rime.

Burns stated, “I’m thrilled to return for Red vs. Blue: Restoration, and to conclude this incredible 21-year journey with our longtime fans.”

“Red vs. Blue has been a cornerstone of Rooster Teeth’s legacy,” Hullum added, “and we’re immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”

Warner Bros. has also issued a quick synopsis and teaser for the final volume:

When the universe’s greatest villain returns in a terrifying new form, old adversaries, the Reds and Blues of Blood Gulch, will have to set aside their differences to save the galaxy one last time.

An earlier prologue shown at last year’s RTX convention indicated that this arc would wrap everything up (as well as implying that the controversial season 18, Red vs. Blue: Zero, was just an in-story simulation). Eagle-eyed fans may find a few extra clues in this new teaser, not least the return of archvillain the Meta. All will be confirmed when the saga comes to a conclusion on May 7.

However, that’s just good news for one Rooster Teeth show. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery had already confirmed that the Roost podcast network will continue for the time being, and a curtailed season five of foul-mouthed cartoon smash Camp Camp recently wrapped. However, this still leaves big questions about long-term homes for all those shows and everything else in the RT archive. That includes its beloved anime-influenced international hit RWBY, which left audiences on a massive cliffhanger.