Touted as “the world’s greatest” animation, gaming and entertainment event, RTX returns for its 11th year, with a second digital alternative to its annual convention RTX at Home July 8-17.

Conference History

A sort of cross between Comic-Con and SXSW, RTX celebrates and features gaming, animation, internet culture and content creation with sneak peeks for game releases, panels with creators, cosplay contests, animation screenings and other interactive programming.

From its inaugural event in 2011 with a crowd of 500 to the over 60,000 expected attendees in 2019, RTX has become a huge part of the Austin event scene with local bars, restaurants and venues joining in the festivities with their own specials and mini-events.

The conference was created by video production company Rooster Teeth LLC. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola and Joel Heyman with the production of their series Red vs. Blue, Rooster Teeth Productions now has over 9 million YouTube subscribers and supports podcasts, video game development, live-action productions (“Rooster Teeth Shorts,” “Immersion,” “Day 5,” “Million Dollars,” “Podcast But Outside …,” “On the Spot,” etc.) and animation (“RWBY,” “Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures,” “Camp Camp,” etc.).

Rooster Teeth content spans across six dedicated channels, each with its own unique groups of hosts and content including Achievement Hunter (1.58M subscribers), LetsPlay (3.77M subscribers), Inside Gaming (1.32M subscribers), Funhaus (1.57M subscribers) and Death Battle (4.8M subscribers). Rooster Teeth also hosts the RTX events in Austin, Sydney, London and at home.

The RTX started in 2011 is usually held annually in Austin, Texas, but moved online in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, Rooster Teeth announced the return of the RTX at Home virtual model, tweeting, “After serious discussions, we have made the decision to cancel this year’s in-person RTX Austin 2021. The health and safety of our staff, Guardians, and community is our number one priority.”

RTX plans to return to Austin in 2022, but moving to a virtual space in 2020 and 2021 has allowed for an even wider audience to take part as compared to previous years.

Movement to the Virtual

The RTX at Home virtual programming features much of the same content that fans have grown to expect from this event, including special one-time virtual specials and activities. Events like meet and greets, group happy hours, panels and personalized video recordings allow fans a chance to interact with the Rooster Teeth on-camera personalities and behind-the-scenes staff. Virtual spaces like the Community Corner, Cosplay Contest and Artist Gallery allow community members to interact and share their art and passion.

RTX at Home will also feature the third annual Podcast Festival and the RTX Animation Festival, with a highly anticipated sneak peek of RWBY Vol 9. For those interested in the content creation industry, RTX at Home also offers virtual mentoring sessions, with a variety of gurus from various Rooster Teeth departments offering advice and perspectives. Finally, RTX at Home promises an exciting slate of yet-to-be-announced one-of-a-kind virtual evening events from Achievement Hunter, Face Jam, Funhaus and Squad Team Force, as well as the RTX at Home Rave with DJ JONK!

RTX at Home runs July 8-17 and will include a mix of free-to-watch and ticketed events delivered virtually on a variety of platforms including the Rooster Teeth website and apps. Tickets, registration, schedules and information can be found on roosterteeth.com and @RTXEvent on Twitter.

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@_HeatherGraham_