Achievement Hunter (abbreviated as AH) is an ongoing series created by Rooster Teeth staff members, Geoff Ramsey and Jack Pattillo. In which staff members and contributors from the community demonstrate how to enjoy and earn gaming achievements in various Xbox games as well as tutorials on how to find easter eggs in videos. It is also a video gaming website and a large video gaming division of Rooster Teeth Productions. Founded by Geoff Ramsey and Jack Pattillo on July 6, 2008, the website is largely based on the achievement mechanic found in seventh and eighth generation video game consoles. Since its founding, Achievement Hunter has grown to become a core component of Rooster Teeth, hosting a wide variety of videos related to video games.
Achievement Hunter has since gone on to become a core component of Rooster Teeth Productions and hosts additional content on the Achievement Hunter, Let's Play, and Let's Play Community channels and formerly on GameFails which is currently an archive of past GameFails content.
The most frequent videos are hosted by these six most prolific employees: Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo, Gavin Free, Michael Jones, Ryan Haywood, and Jeremy Dooley. Ray Narvaez, Jr. was originally the sixth main host for three years from April 30, 2012 until his departure from Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth on April 17, 2015. Six months later, on October 16, 2015, Geoff and Jack subsequently promoted Dooley to the main six, becoming the new official 6th host. While most videos feature these six ‘core’ members of Achievement Hunter, others from the main cast members' room and the editing room/support room often show up regularly, such as Lindsay Jones, Trevor Collins, Alfredo Diaz, Matthew “Matt” Bragg, and Fiona Nova, who also make regular appearances.
History and development
2008-10: Inception and growth
In 2008, Geoff Ramsey's interest in gaming achievements alongside Burnie Burns resulted in the realization that no community-based website related to achievements existed.
- “Well Burnie and I were both huge achievement fans… and we were constantly racing each other to get more achievements – trying to outdo each other for gamerscore – and to that end we were playing at ton of games in our free time and trying to find information about how to get certain achievements online and it was a bit of a crapshoot… there were a few site you could go and look at… but I’m kind of a visual dude, and it really helps me if I can sit down and watch a video… So we were talking about how great it would be if a site like that existed one day and how helpful it would be for us and I said “Fuck it, I’ll just make that site” and decided to do that…”
- — resolution-magazine[1]
As a result, Ramsey approached Burnie Burns, then CEO of Rooster Teeth, about creating a website based on achievements; Burns agreed, and Ramsey created Achievement Hunter, which shares a similar design to the main Rooster Teeth website. In a February 2017 interview during RTX Sydney 2017, Ramsey later elaborated, saying he had grown tired of making Red vs. Blue and enjoyed working on this new, creative outlet in his spare time. Alongside fellow Rooster Teeth employee Jack Pattillo, Ramsey regularly released achievement guides and Easter egg videos, often receiving assistance from select volunteers from the Rooster Teeth community. David Dreger also assisted in the founding of the site.
2011-12: employment growth
In mid-June 2011, Ryan Haywood was initially hired part-time by Geoff and Jack to serve as an editor, behind the scenes crew tech/PC guy, and contract host for Achievement Hunter, directly through a Craigslist ad placed by Geoff online. He was running, editing videos for, and managing the Game Fails channel as a part-time job and then hired full-time shortly after Michael was, sometime in the fall of 2011. Because of his technical skills, the company wanted to use him for other projects (such as RvB, since season 10 was in production). Ryan would then go on to serve the animation department of Rooster Teeth, as it was mentioned that Haywood had been hired full-time as an animator to work for the company's long-running web series Red vs. Blue. Burnie Burns told Haywood that if he could complete work, services, and assistance on season 10 of Red vs. Blue on schedule, Haywood would be given the opportunity to do whatever else he wanted. Haywood later began being featured in videos as a co-host as early as March 2012 when AH started playing PC games and he help the set ups and making sure the games went smoothly, eventually becoming one of the main cast members of the show in late 2012. Michael Jones was officially hired soon after in August 2011, initially hosting the show Rage Quit.
In December 2011, Achievement Hunter began creating Let's Play videos. The success of the videos resulted in a weekly sub-series, in which the main hosts played Minecraft. Weekly Let's Play videos focusing on Grand Theft Auto games were also released.
In mid-February 2012, Achievement Hunter officially hired Gavin Free, after he had assisted with the company for many years such as working as a contract host from 2008 until 2011 as well as making YouTube videos for the Slow Mo Guys YouTube channel (which was eventually adopted by Rooster Teeth and moved to the main Rooster Teeth YouTube channel). Free joined Achievement Hunter in 2008 as a contract host before becoming one of the main six hosts in mid-February 2012. In March 2012, Achievement Hunter debuted Game Night, in which Ramsey and Caleb Denecour play games with community members; the series switched to a live stream format in 2014. Community member Ray Narvaez, Jr. was hired in early to mid April 2012, having worked as a contract host for a year from 2010 till 2011. Narvaez flew down to Austin, Texas to complete his hiring on April 26, 2012 where he became a fully fledged Rooster Teeth employee ever since after making community videos to Community Hunter from November 14, 2008 until March 2012. Later, on September 11, 2012, former contract editor Franco Scarcello created Five Facts a day after he was hired which was generally hosted by Pattillo and Ramsey and it focused on little-known facts about various video games. However, it was not renewed for a sixth season in May 2016.
2013-2015: popularity, expansion, and evolutionary change
The AH team in 2013.
In early 2013, Achievement Hunter introduced a competition series titled VS, in which the employees challenge each other to compete in games. On February 20, 2013, Free announced that The Slow Mo Guys had been adopted and picked up by Rooster Teeth and further future episodes of the series would be released on Rooster Teeth's website, as well as the series' existing YouTube channel. A best of compilation was released by Rooster Teeth Productions for home video on September 10, 2013. In April 2013, Achievement Hunter launched their own channel on YouTube, which hosts a variety of their videos. Later in October 2013, the company retired Achievement HORSE, replacing it with Achievement HUNT, in which a variety of employees challenge each other until the word "HUNT" has been spelled.
Also, October 2013, Pattillo hosted a 24-hour live stream benefiting Extra Life, a charity benefiting hospitalized children. With appearances from other Achievement Hunter members and various Rooster Teeth employees, the live stream managed to raise $340,000. This charity live stream has become an annual event, with 2014's Extra Life live stream raising over $442,000 for Children's Miracle Network. At RTX 2014 on July 6, 2014, community members Matt Bragg and Jeremy Dooley were hired as editors and secondary hosts at Achievement Hunter.
On January 16, 2015, Jose Jones Castillo departed from Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter in order to pursue a career as an independent film maker focusing on virtual reality technology. He now serves as the founder and CEO of Viewer Ready, working on producing and releasing Virtual Reality gear and 360 content. He also departed from RWBY and no longer voices the character Mercury Black and was replaced by Yuri Lowenthal. However, Castillo attended RTX 2015 for one day. On February 5, 2015, Funhaus joined Rooster Teeth becoming a part of the Lets Play family and also started competing against Achievement Hunter in various videos. Later, on February 2015, Achievement Hunter hosted the first Let's Play Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. Let's Play Live in an on-stage event orchestrated by Rooster Teeth, which puts the Achievement Hunter members in front of a live audience to play games and entertain their fans. The first such performance was on February 20, 2015, at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. On April 17, 2015, Narvaez quit from Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth in order to focus on self-employment and working independently, primarily consisting of Twitch live streaming video games, although he continued to voice his character for the company's X-Ray and Vav animated series until it's eventual cancellation in late 2015. On July 2, 2015, Achievement Hunter launched a new YouTube channel, named after themselves, thereon they upload series of videos that were previously uploaded to the Rooster Teeth channel and the LetsPlay channel. Additionally, they moved out of Rooster Teeth's Stage 5, Austin Studios office into their own office nearby. As of July 6, 2015, the official Achievement Hunter channel was created, and is the new home of most of AH's non-Let's Play videos. Previous to this, Achievement Hunter videos appeared on the Rooster Teeth and Let's Play YouTube channels.
The most frequent videos come from the six, most prolific employees and top golden Achievement Hunter cast members: Geoff Ramsey (Rooster Teeth co-founder/Achievement Hunter co-founder, co-host of Off Topic), Jack Pattillo (Achievement Hunter's first employee and co-founder), Gavin Free (Red vs Blue Season 7 director/Host and co-creator of The Slow-Mo Guys/former Creative Director of Rooster Teeth), Michael Jones (Main host and creator of Rage Quit and the Off Topic Podcast, voice of Max in Camp Camp, Sun Wukong in RWBY, Sting Eucliffe in Fairy Tail and Mogar in X-Ray and Vav), Ryan Haywood (Animator, editor, producer, technical director of the 10th season of Red vs. Blue and Rooster Teeth's Game Fails YouTube channel manager, hired via a Craiglist ad) and Jeremy Dooley (creator of Imaginary Achievements/Community Hunter turned full-time employee, Rooster Teeth rapper), who replaced Ray Narvaez, Jr. (Community Hunter turned full-time employee turned full-time streamer) as of October 16, 2015 in Lets Play Minecraft Episode 177: Blocking List (Part 2), almost 6 months after Ray left Achievement Hunter with his last Achievement Hunter video in Lets Play Minecraft Episode 151: Brown Out uploaded to YouTube on April 17, 2015 on Ray's last day.
A new Achievement Hunter weekly podcast titled Off Topic was announced in October 2015 by Michael Jones, and Michael wrote a Rooster Teeth journal entry on October 28, 2015 to explain the new show (the podcast) was created by both Michael Jones and Geoff Ramsey. Four test episodes aired live and were only available to "FIRSTs" on their website. The first official episode, starring Michael, Geoff and various other AH and RT staff debuted on October 30, 2015 and aired to the public after the initial tests. Jones serves as the main host of the show and makes the most frequent appearances while Ramsey, the co-host, makes the second most frequent appearances, alongside other Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth employees and special guests including Patricia Sommerset, Arin Hanson, and Samm Levine.[2][3] He also hosts the after show Last Call available for First Members only.
On October 26, 2015, Gavin Free was promoted to the Creative Director of Rooster Teeth replacing Burnie Burns who was promoted to the chief creative officer. However, Gavin unofficially stepped down in late February/early March 2016 in order to willingly focus more on dedicating his time on other Rooster Teeth projects such as The Slow Mo Guys and Achievement Hunter.
Also, October 2015, Larry Matovina was hired as an employee of Rooster Teeth. Larry was officially hired as a member of Achievement Hunter in January 2016, working as an editor for Achievement Hunter, mostly editing Let's Plays. Also, in late 2015, Max Bernard joined the team working as an editor and contractor host based in Philadelphia in charge of the community videos titled Great Levels in Gaming, which debuted on December 29, 2015.
On March 19, 2016, Kdin Jenzen departed from Achievement Hunter as a content creator, editor and recurring guest host but Kdin still continues to work at Rooster Teeth. Kdin changed departments and now works at The Know. On April 12, 2016, a new show titled VR the Champions debuted, starring Ryan, Michael, Gavin and Jeremy. On April 28, 2016, Kent Cook and Neal Werle were hired as editors. On April 29, 2016, a new show titled Theater Mode aired starring various AH staff for sponsors. Also in April, it was revealed that Lindsay was promoted to the general manager of AH as Geoff was very busy managing the Let's Play family network. On May 16, 2016, Mica Burton was officially hired at Achievement Hunter working as an editor and recurring host. On May 17, 2016, contract editor Franco Scarcello departed from Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter following the end of the series Five Facts, hosted by himself along with Ramsey and Pattillo after the series had not been renewed for a sixth season and after 188 episodes. One month later, on June 15, 2016, wrote a goodbye journal entry on his Rooster Teeth profile to explain his departure. On May 27, 2016, Andrew Blanchard was hired and joined Achievement Hunter working as a part-time worker, and an editor after formerly working as an intern for them.
On June 17, 2016 they had their second rendition of their Let's Play Live event by the group, this time at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. In addition to the Achievement Hunters, there were be other YouTube creators that are part of the Let's Play and Rooster Teeth family. These included: Funhaus, ScrewAttack, Kinda Funny, Cow Chop, and The Creatures. The entire Let's Play family would also be at RTX 2016, which was held from July 1 till July 3.
It was also announced via Twitter post and here by Rooster Teeth hat a third rendition of the Lets Play Live concert will be held on Friday, August 19, 2016 starting at 7:30 PM at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois powered by Chase. It will once again feature Achievement Hunter, Funhaus, The Creatures and Kinda Funny.
From mid 2015 onwards, Achievement Hunter would feature celebrities as guest collaborators in some of their Let's Play videos such as such as Watsky, iZombie's Rahul Kohli,[4] Dan Campbell from The Wonder Years,[5] Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham,[6][7] Dante Basco,[8][9] James Buckley,[10] Lannan Eacott, and pop punk band Neck Deep.[11]
2016 - present
In April 2016, Achievement Hunter launched two new shows for fans to enjoy. A new series called VR the Champions premiered on YouTube and featured Haywood, Dooley, and other members testing out new gameplay in virtual reality.[12] In addition, a First Member only show known as Theater Mode was created, and includes hosts like Jones, Ramsey, and Pattillo, as well as others, watching horrible movies and commenting on them.[13] Later in 2016, Achievement Hunter introduced RouLet's Play, where hosts play a game at random, Heroes and Halfwits, a sort of dungeons and dragons gameplay with Haywood, Jones, Ramsey, Griffon Ramsey, and Gus Sorola, and Schooled in which Ramsey and his daughter Millie teach kids to play video games in hopes of defeating the main Achievement Hunter members. [31]
In February 2017, Ramsey announced his sabbatical from the company to take a break after many long years of creating and developing Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter to what it had become. Later on, two months into his break, Ramsey and Millie premiered the second season of Schooled. This time around the kids were being trained by the main members to battle each other. In April, Achievement Hunter went on tour on the east coast to perform Let's Play Live! with Funhaus in New Jersey, Maryland, and Florida.[14]
As part of Rooster Teeth's Pilot Month, a test episode of a new ghost hunting show called Achievement Haunter premiered on May 17, 2018. The episode was considered a success and the series was green-lit for an eight episode first season, which aired on October 31, 2018.
Hardcore Tabletop, a show that takes board games and gives them real world twists, premiered on August 21, 2018. The first season had Achievement Hunter personalities play Monopoly with real money, with the potential to earn up to $20,580. The second season, titled Hardcore Tabletop: World Series, aired on April 10, 2019 and returned to Monopoly with competitors from the Let's Play family as well as Dante Basco.
The Weird Place, a collaborative series between Achievement Hunter and Meow Wolf, aired on March 13, 2019.
Unlike any other dedicated-achievement website, Achievement Hunter is highly dependent on public contributions and has guides across different games and platforms, allowing the site to expand its focus from Xbox 360, and Xbox One games to those on PC, PS3, PS4, Steam, iPhone, and Windows Phone 7. Along with the main Rooster Teeth website, Achievement Hunter has achieved great popularity since its inception.
The Achievement Hunter offices have mostly been in the same building as the rest of the Rooster Teeth departments, The first being the Congress office, the second was at 636, the third was inside of Stage 5. The only office that has not been directly connected to the rest is the current one, based in Stage 4.[15]
Let's Play Live!
- See main article: Let's Play Live.
Let's Play Live! is an on-stage event produced by Rooster Teeth in which the Achievement Hunter members play video games and perform comedy sketches in front of a live audience. Their first event was held on February 20, 2015, at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. On September 14, 2015, a behind-the-scenes documentary was released about the event for sponsors on their website.
Three more Let's Play Live! events were held in 2016, with the first at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 17, the second at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on August 19, and the third at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York on October 8. These events also featured appearances by other members of the Let's Play family; Funhaus, ScrewAttack, Kinda Funny, Cow Chop and The Creatures.
In 2017, four Let's Play Live! shows were announced as the East Coast Tour. The tour was held from April 24 to April 30, with them going to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, the Hippodrome Theatrein Baltimore, Maryland, Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida.
One Lets Play Live! show was held in 2018 as part of RTX 2018 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas on August 2.
In January 2019, Achievement Hunter performed three Let's Play Live! shows in Australia known as AH Live! after Rooster Teeth announced in August 2018 that they would be replacing RTX Sydney 2019 with Let's Play Live!
Series
Fails of the Weak
Fails of the weak DVD
Later that same year two new series were introduced, Fails of the Weak in Halo Reach being one of them. This series highlights mistakes and glitches found in Halo: Reach; most of these videos are submitted to Achievement Hunter by the community, depicting themselves failing. Each Friday, Jack and Geoff upload a video with at about ten fail clips showing the fails with both of them commenting on the fail's humor. "Fails" met with great success and even spun off its own YouTube channel, GameFails. They have recently shown their 100th Fails of the Weak video and made a montage of fails to celebrate. Upon its release, this series moved into Halo 4. Since episode 200 the series has included fails from any game.
HORSE and PIG/Achievement Hunt
Achievement Hunt
The other series that aired in late 2010 was Achievement HORSE with Jack and Geoff, also featuring exclusively Halo: Reach maps. Similar to the basketball game of H-O-R-S-E, the players win rounds to give the other player letter (e.g. Jack wins round 1, Geoff gets a letter H) until one player has spelled out "horse" and wins the game. In this version of Horse, the players (typically Geoff and Jack, but more recently other Rooster Teeth employees have been playing as well/in their stead) compete in an obstacle course until one of them reaches the objective and wins the round. The obstacle courses are Forged in Halo: Reach and are sent to Jack and Geoff by fans. Occasionally they will play a shortened Achievement PIG due to time constraints. So far there have been two company-wide tournaments with employees from Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth. Additionally, there is Achievement Pig for Trials Evolution, which also features fan sent obstacle courses, alongside with the Halo: Reach Horse series. Upon its release, this series moved into Halo 4. In October 2013, the HORSE series was replaced with Achievement HUNT , which is the same basic concept, except a different game is used every round.
Rage Quit
In mid-January 2011, a new series debuted, called Rage Quit, in which "test subject" Michael Jones, is subjected to difficult, aggravating and exasperating games until "he eventually has an aneurysm and we have to rush him to the emergency room," as described by Geoff Ramsey. Michael often plays smaller, lesser-known XBLA games of low quality, adding to the level of frustration. Since its creation, it had become a hit weekly series. Beginning on May 1, 2014 however, the show now airs every other Thursday, interchanging with Play Pals. The show went on a hiatus starting October 9, 2014 due to Michael's absence because of the Lazer Team filming project, but has returned as of January 2015, airing every other Thursday or Friday as before.
As of July 23, 2015, Michael has placed Rage Quit on hiatus, with new episodes airing once every several months. In regards to the show's future in response to fan questions, Jones began by stating that he and the other AH members will "occasionally take some steps towards finding new video games [to rage quit on]," referring to Rage Quit, meaning that the show would be revived with new episodes every now and again as soon as there are ideas for one. He further elaborated by saying that Achievement Hunter would be interested in looking at all the audience feedback (ideas and suggestions from the fans) in the comments section and applying it to the show in the future. However, the show was quietly put on hiatus to figure out where AH wants to take it, with the show not having been active since March 8, 2017.
2011 smaller series
Also in 2011, four new series were created by the Achievement Hunter staff for their audience. The first series is "This is...", which introduces new video games that came out recently. The game presented in "This is..." typically is released a day or two prior to the "This is..." video and is often accompanied by some achievement guides from the Achievement Hunter staff for the new game. The second series is titled "Things To Do In:" and presents its viewers with alternative ways to play and interesting things to do in video games like Saints Row 3, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, and Minecraft. The third series made was called "A Look Back At" and was a spin-of from the "This is..." videos. In "A Look Back At," former Achievement Hunter employees Fragger and Ray re-introduced old Xbox 360 games that might have been overlooked in their release but are now considered classic games.
Let's Play
Let's Play's Logo
The final series that aired that year is called "Let's Play". The "Let's Play" videos are some of the most viewed and liked videos from the fans of Achievement Hunter. The first "Let's Play" videos are from Michael Jones and Geoff Ramsey when they were playing Saints Row 3 together with live commentary. Eventually more videos were made from the staff of Achievement Hunter, varying from Saints Row 3 to Assassin's Creed to Trials: Evolution, however the most popular videos are the "Let's Play" for Minecraft with Geoff, Ryan, Jack, Michael, Gavin and Jeremy (who replaced Ray). The Minecraft videos receive millions of views each week and, since fans like them so much, the Achievement Hunter team decided to "upload new Minecraft Let's Plays each week until we die," as stated by Geoff Ramsey. Due to their huge popularity, the "Let's Play" videos received their own dedicated YouTube channel Let's Play, which is updated every weekday with videos. This includes GTA V on Monday, GO! on Tuesday, a series Let's Play on Wednesday, VS on Thursday, and a Minecraft Let's Play on Friday. Bonus Let's Plays have also appeared on the weekends or as extra videos during the weekday. During the time between Ray left and Jeremy took over as the new 6th host at Achievement Hunter, various members of the AH crew such as Matt, Lindsay, Mica, Caleb, and Jeremy were appearing in Achievement Hunter Let's Plays from time to time.
VS
This show is a competition show, where a champion is challenged by the challenger to
Old VS Logo
a game of their choosing. The trophies are two wrestling belts and a golden rooster. Whoever wins in an episode gets to keep these for a week or until at least the next episode, where they get challenged. Starting in episode 52, Lindsay officially joined the VS line up. The challenger rotation was initially the order of their desks clockwise (Gavin, Ryan, Jack, Geoff, Ray, Michael), then determined by the results of a Go Kart race in VS Episode 52. The new rotation was Jack, Ryan, Michael, Gavin, Ray, Lindsay, Geoff. In VS Episode 104 Geoff stepped away from the lineup to be full-time host of the show and the rotation was reset again. The new rotation was determined by the results of Mini Golf, resulting in an order of Ryan, Gavin, Matt, Michael, Jack, Lindsay, Ray, Jeremy. With Ray's leaving, he has been since removed from the lineup and quit the competition, with his last VS being VS Episode 111. Following this, he was replaced by Jeremy in the VS series.
GO!
This show is a competition to get a visible achievement or perform a certain task (assigned by Geoff) in any game the players choose. The winner is awarded a sticker to be placed on a crude paper board that (originally) Gavin Free and Geoff Ramsey made.
GO! logo
The first player to fill up their section of the board (five wins) with stickers will be awarded a pizza party with Geoff and a friend. In GO!, Geoff is the host, while Gavin, Ryan, Jack, Michael, and formerly Ray (now replaced by Jeremy) are the competitors. Lindsay and Kerry are also on the board though their appearances have been very few. So far only Ray and Jack have won pizza parties.
Full Play
This show is simply full playthroughs of older games, such as Resident Evil: Revelations. Episodes were usually only hosted by Michael, who sometimes had guests with him. There have been 2 full playthroughs so far, Resident Evil: Revelations and State of Decay, as well as an ongoing series in Banjo-Tooie. The series went on a hiatus with episodes being moved to Michael's personal YouTube channel before stopping fully. Full Play has been essentially replaced with the creation of the Let's Watch series which follows a similar format with a rotating cast of hosts.
Cast & Crew
The Achievement Hunter line up from RTX 2014. From left to right: Matt, Jeremy, Kdin, Lindsay, Michael, Gavin, Geoff, Ryan, Ray, Jack, and Caleb.
As of 2018, the main cast includes: Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Michael, Gavin, and Jeremy, with recurring appearances from Lindsay, Matt, Trevor, Alfredo, and Fiona.
Main cast
The faces of Achievement Hunter and the ones who appear the most frequently in their videos, especially all their Let's Plays. Their primarily role is on camera/on-screen/on-mic talent.
- Geoff Ramsey: (July 6, 2008 – present, 1st main cast host, co-creator/co-founder | 2008/2009 – April 8, 2016: Head/general manager of AH | October 28, 2015 – present: Co-Creator and co-host/co-star of the Off Topic Podcast | April 8, 2016 – February 2017: Head of RT Gaming (Co-general manager of Rooster Teeth's Let's Play YouTube gaming multi-channel network)[16][17] | February 2017 – present: on sabbatical | April 2016 – present: Creative Director of RT's Let's Play family MCN)
- Jack Pattillo: (December 1, 2009 – present: 2nd main cast host[18][19] | July 6, 2008–present: co-creator, co-founder | July 6, 2008 – December 1, 2009: contract host | October 2013 – present: Charity Director and main host/representative of AH at live-streamed events conventions and expos such as RT's Extra Life Stream, Let's Play Live! and such)
- Ryan Haywood: (Autumn 2012/early 2013 – present: main cast host | June 14, 2011 – late August/early September 2011: crew, behind the scenes PC/tech guy, part-time editor and part-time Game Fails YouTube channel manager, hired part-time by Geoff through discovery of a Craigslist ad[20][21] | Late August/early September 2011 – autumn 2012/early 2013: hired full-time at Rooster Teeth as machinima animator, VFX artist, animation editor and technical director, in lighting/rendering/modelling in order to lend computer animation and VFX editing skills, talents, assistance towards Red vs. Blue: Season 10 | June 2014 – early 2017: co-anchor and gaming journalist on The Know)
- Michael Jones: (August 15, 2011– present: main cast host[22][23] | October 2009 - August 15, 2011, content creator, as "LtMkilla" | January 20, 2011 – March 8, 2017: Creator and host of Rage Quit | January 13, 2011 – August 15, 2011: contract host[24][25][26][27] | September 20, 2011 – August 2016: creator and co-host of the Internet Box Podcast | October 28, 2015 – present: Co-creator and main host of The Off Topic Podcast)
- Gavin Free: (February 14, 2012–present: main cast host[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] | September 2008 – 2011: contract host | 2007: Rooster Teeth intern | Autumn 2008/early 2009: Director of Red vs Blue Season 7: Recreation and miniseries Relocated | October 2010 – present: co-creator, main on-camera host/co-star of The Slow Mo Guys | October 26, 2015 - late February/early March 2016: Creative Director of Rooster Teeth)
- Jeremy Dooley: (October 16, 2015–present, "new" 6th main cast member | July 6, 2014 – October 16, 2015, crew, editor, recurring secondary host)
Behind-The-Scenes crew
Supporting cast and talent
The behind-the-scenes crew members of Achievement Hunter (i.e. behind the scenes editors, publishers, etc.) who typically do not headline the division, but appear second-to-most frequently in AH videos. They usually fulfill support roles (i.e. behind the scenes editing, publishing, other BTS work) but appear frequently enough to have their desk in the main cast/talent room (Talent office).
- Lindsay Jones: (February 24, 2017 – Recurring secondary host[37]| April 8, 2016 - February 24, 2017: Managing/Supervising Producer and general manager of AH[38][39] | Spring of 2013 - April 8, 2016: editor, recurring host)
- Matt Bragg: (Creative Lead and content creator, editor, recurring secondary host; July 6, 2014–present)
- Trevor Collins: (February 24, 2017 – present: Managing/Supervising Producer, supervising manager, and recurring secondary host[40][41] | Head Editor: November 17, 2014[42] - February 24, 2017)
- Alfredo Diaz: (editor, head of streaming coordinator, recurring secondary host: August 11, 2017 – present)[43]
- Fiona Nova: (Recurring secondary host and Production Coordinator: March 1, 2019 – present)[44][45]
Support crew
These are the other members of Achievement Hunter who are fully behind-the-scenes crew members (BTS editors, (vidfoe editors and streaming editors), camera crew, associate producers, publishers, production managers, production co-ordinators, streaming coordinators, writers, etc.). They typically do not appear either on-camera or through voice recording. These Hunters are mainly editing/support coordinators and/or video editors for the group. They are located in the Post Production office (editing room/support room) next door.
- Steffie Hardy: (Social Media Community Manager of Achievement Hunter: 2016–present | Production Manager: September 15, 2014 – 2016)
- Larry Matovina: (Head Editor: February 24, 2017 – present[46] | October 21, 2015 – February 24, 2017: Video Editor[47])
- Kent Cook (Producer and video editor: March 21, 2016–present)[48]
- Ashley Dillard: (Editor: June 2016–present)[49]
- Jarren Martinez: (Intern and Editor: January 2018 – August 2018 | Post Production Assistant: October 2018 – present)
- Alec Agabon: (Editor: February 2018 – present)
- Sarah Weems: (Associate Producer, Production Coordinator and production manager: March 2018 – present)
- Jacob McDuffee: (Editor: May 2018 – present)
Recurring guests
Rooster Teeth
- Kerry Shawcross: 2010–present
- Gus Sorola: 2011–present[50][51][52]
- Burnie Burns: 2011–present[53][54][55][56][57][58]
- Joel Heyman: 2011–present[59]
- Adam Ellis: 2013–present
Former staff
- David Dreger (early contributor; 2008; died in June 2013)
- Brandon "Fragger" Light: 2011–2013 (contract host)
- J.J. Castillo: (November 2012 – January 21, 2014: AH behind the scenes video editor | January 21, 2014 – January 16, 2015: Crew, Editor, Content Producer, Cameraman in hosting, producing, screenwriting, editing filming and acting in RT live-action content such as RT Shorts, RT PODCAST, IMMERSION, Web Content, DVD Content, Commercial Client Content)
- Ray Narvaez, Jr. (November 14, 2008 – March 2012: content creator and community hunter member | 2010–2011: contract host | September 2011 – March 2016: Co-host of the Internet Box Podcast | April 30, 2012 – April 17, 2015, "original" 6th main co-host and cast member | November 27, 2014 – October 18, 2015: Voice of X-Ray | April 17, 2015–present, occasional special guest star)
- Kdin Jenzen: (November 2013-March 19, 2016: behind the scenes video editor, cameraman | March 21, 2016 – February 14, 2019: The Know Head Editor, camera crew, script writer and editor | February 14, 2019 - presentL Inside Gaming editor, producer)
- Franco Scarcello: (Contract Editor and content creator: September 2012–May 2016)
- Caleb Denecour: (June 2011-January 2016: Community Manager of Achievement Hunter | January 2016 – October 2017: Social Media Community Manager of Rooster Teeth)
- Max Bernard: (contract host; December 2015–July 4, 2017)[60]
- Mica Burton: (c. early 2017 – April 30, 2018: Co-anchor and editor on The Know | head of streaming, editor, recurring secondary host; May 19, 2016 – 2017)
- Neal Werle (editor; 2016–May 10, 2018)[61]
- Andrew Blanchard (full-time behind the scenes video editor, recurring secondary host: July 28, 2016 – Septemer 12, 2019[62]| part-time editor and manager: May 27, 2016 – July 28, 2016 | June 2015 – August 2015: unpaid editing intern)
Shows
| Series | Primary contributor(s) | Series premiere | Series finale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forced Enjoyment | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | March 25, 2008 | July 28, 2010 |
| Achievement Guides/Achievement Unlocked | Various | July 29, 2008 | Ongoing |
| Pajamachievements | Griffon Ramsey | December 20, 2008 | September 25, 2009 |
| Easter Eggs | Various | July 14, 2009 | Ongoing |
| Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU) | Various | March 4, 2010 | Ongoing |
| Behind the Scenes | Various | May 5, 2010 | May 9, 2017 |
| Fails of the Weak | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | September 22, 2010 | May 13, 2016 |
| Achievement HORSE/PIG | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | December 6, 2010 | January 2, 2016 |
| Rage Quit | Michael Jones | January 20, 2011 | Ongoing |
| This Is ... | Various | March 29, 2011 | August 14, 2015 |
| Things to Do In: | Various | November 30, 2011 | Ongoing |
| Let's Play | Various | December 7, 2011 | Ongoing |
| A Look Back At | Brandon "Fragger" Light; Ray Narvaez, Jr. | December 16, 2011 | August 15, 2012 |
| Game Night | Geoff Ramsey, Caleb Denecour | March 23, 2012 | February 14, 2014 |
| Trials Files | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo | April 24, 2012 | November 4, 2014 |
| Retro Active | Brandon "Fragger" Light | May 30, 2012 | October 31, 2012 |
| Quick Bits | Various | August 20, 2012 | December 17, 2012 |
| Five Facts | Geoff Ramsey, Jack Pattillo, Franco Scarcello | September 11, 2012 | May 17, 2016[13] |
| Coming Soon | Kdin Jenzen | March 5, 2013 | May 1, 2015 |
| Versus (VS) | Various | March 8, 2013 | January 19, 2017 |
| GO! | Various | October 29, 2013 | August 28, 2016 |
| Achievement HUNT | Various | October 30, 2013 | May 10, 2016 |
| How To: | Joel Heyman, Adam Ellis, Jeremy Dooley, Matt Bragg | February 6, 2014 | May 15, 2016[48][49] |
| Play Pals | Michael Jones, Gavin Free | May 8, 2014 | Ongoing |
| Countdown/Top Five | Various | May 12, 2014 | January 5, 2016 |
| Imaginary Achievements | Jeremy Dooley | August 13, 2014 | April 8, 2015 |
| MegaCraft | Matt Bragg | August 18, 2014 | August 12, 2015 |
| Let's Watch | Various | September 18, 2014 | Ongoing |
| Grab Bag | Various | September 25, 2014 | April 21, 2016 |
| Achievement Hunter vs. The World | Various | October 16, 2014 | May 8, 2016 |
| Sunday Driving | Various | November 6, 2014 | July 5, 2015 |
| Shenanigans | Various | December 19, 2014 | Ongoing |
| Presented With Comment | Jeremy Dooley (with various contenders) | August 1, 2015 | January 7, 2016 |
| Off Topic Podcast | Michael Jones (with various AH members) | October 30, 2015 | Ongoing |
| Great Levels in Gaming | Max Bernard | December 29, 2015 | May 30, 2016 |
| VR the Champions | Various[51] | April 12, 2016 | Ongoing |
| Theater Mode[52] | Various[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] | April 29, 2016 | Ongoing |
| Heroes and Halfwits[61] | Frank J. Kim, Geoff Ramsey, Griffon Ramsey, Michael Jones, Gus Sorola, Ryan Haywood | June 9, 2016 | Ongoing |
| RouLetsPlay | Various | September 29, 2016 | Ongoing |
| Schooled[62] | Geoff Ramsey, Millie Ramsey | October 3, 2016 | May 17, 2017 |
| Between the Games | Various | October 11, 2016 | Ongoing |
| Battle Buddies | Ryan Haywood, Jeremy Dooley | May 9, 2017 | Ongoing |
| Chaos Corner | Lindsay Jones | December 28, 2017 | Ongoing |
| AH Animated | Various | January 25, 2018 | Ongoing |
| Let's Roll | Various | August 19, 2018 | Ongoing |
| Hardcore Tabletop | Geoff Ramsey, Matt Bragg, Jack Pattillo, Michael Jones, Jeremy Dooley, Alfredo Diaz, Ryan Haywood, Lindsay Jones, Elyse Willems | September 21, 2018 | Ongoing |
| AHTV (Beta) | Various | May 2018 | Ongoing |
| Achievement Haunter | Geoff Ramsey, Gavin Free, Michael Jones, Jeremy Dooley, Ryan Haywood, Jack Patillo, Lindsay Jones | October 31, 2018 | Ongoing |
Trivia
- The main cast were hired in the order of: Geoff, Jack, Michael, Gavin, Ray, Ryan, and Jeremy.
- In mid June 2011, Achievement Hunter hired Ryan Haywood as an editor, behind the scenes crew tech guy and as a recurring contract host after Ryan left the animation department of Rooster Teeth; Haywood later began being featured in videos as a main host as early as March 2012, becoming one of the main cast members later in November of that year and brought into the main six. Ryan was actually hired by Geoff sometime in the summer of 2011 after a discovery from a Craigslist ad placed by Geoff in early-mid June, before Michael was promoted full-time on August 15, 2011. He was running and editing Rooster Teeth's Game Fails as a part-time job at Rooster Teeth then hired full-time shortly after Michael around March 26, 2012, but due to him actually being talented, his skills were needed elsewhere in the company (such as Red vs Blue). Now they finally had him 100% in AH.
- In other words, Ryan initially worked for Achievement Hunter it was to handle Game Fails when he was originally hired part-time via a Craigslist ad because Geoff had a bunch of ideas but not enough time to do them all (such as Game Fails). During that time, Rooster Teeth was in Red vs Blue production and need help animating. Ryan knew how to animate so they brought him in to help out. After Red vs Blue wrapped up, he went back to Achievement Hunter and is now more involved full-time. His degree was actually in Computer Animation, so when Red vs Blue rolled around, he was "loaned" to the production team for what was supposed to be 20% of his time. It ended up being more like 200% Red vs Blue of Rooster Teeth, so he was gone from Achievement Hunter for about 6 months. Once Red vs Blue finished they started Monday Let's Plays which he would usually setup and edit (and sneak in PC games when he could).
- Ryan has always been a part of AH with their Game Fails YouTube page. He started being more in their Let's Plays when they started playing PC games and he help the set ups and making sure the games went smoothly. He became a regular member of the Let's Plays since. He was also gone for a long time to help with the production of RvB.
- All of the Achievement Hunters that so far, have edited videos during their time at Rooster Teeth.
- Gavin (formerly) edited Minecraft Let's Play, Things To Do In, and Let's Plays. He (currently) edits The Slow Mo Guys episodes. He also initially assisted Michael in editing Rage Quits.
- Michael (formerly) edited Rage Quits and Let's Plays.
- Ray (formerly) edited Achievement Guides.
- Geoff (formerly) edited Trials Files and Red vs Blue. He formerly ran the Game Kids channel. He presently manages the Rooster Teeth Let's Play YouTube MCN
- Jack (formerly) edited Achievement HUNT and AHWU.
- Ryan (formerly) Let's Play GTA and was previously in charge of managing and editing the Game Fails channel part-time.
- Lindsay (formerly) edited Minecraft Let's Plays, Let's Plays, Let's Builds, and (currently) edits Things To Do In and Versus, and other Achievement Hunter videos and Let's plays. .
- Caleb (formerly) edited Game Night. He runs the Community Hunter and Game Kids channels.
- Kdin (formerly) edited Countdown/Top Five, Coming Soon, Let's Builds, Minecraft Let's Plays, Let's Plays, and any other bonus videos. She currently is in charge of editing videos for The Know.
- Matt (formerly) edited MegaCraft and Let's Builds, and (currently) edits Let's Plays.
- Jeremy (formerly) edited Imaginary Achievements, Minecraft Let's Plays, Let's Builds, and (currently) edits Let's Plays and music videos.
- Trevor edits Game Kids Let's Plays as well as runs the Community Hunter and Game Kids channels.
- Fragger (formerly) edited Retro Active/A Look Back At.
- Franco (formerly) edited Five Facts.
- Kerry (formerly) edited Go!
- JJ (formerly) edited Let's Builds.
- Larry edits Let's Plays.
- Ashley edits Let's Plays.
- Alfredo edits the live streams.
- Mica (formerly) edited and ran Achievement Hunter live streams on YouTube Gaming. She presently edits videos for The Know.
- Kent edits Let's Plays.
- Neal edits Let's Plays.
- Max edits Great Levels in Gaming.
- Let's Play - Surgeon Simulator 2013: Alien Transplant, uploaded on Jan 31, 2014, is currently the most viewed video on the YouTube Let's Play channel.
- Let's Play Minecraft, uploaded on May 11, 2012, is currently the most viewed let's play on the YouTube Rooster Teeth channel.
- Matt Bragg (Axialmatt) and Jeremy Dooley (Jerem6401) from the Community Hunter Channel were officially hired by Achievement Hunter at the second AH Panel at RTX 2014. The two joined the group in the panel, with the cast picture above taken later on in the same panel.
- Fails of the Weak, Five Facts, Trials Files, Let's Play Minecraft, Versus, GO!, Rage Quit, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update, Halo Achievement Horse, and Things To Do In are the only Achievement Hunter series to reach at least 100 episodes. Minecraft, AHWU, and Things to Do In are still active, though the last one (along with Rage Quit) went on a hiatus at one point.
- Ray is the first Achievement Hunter of the main six to leave in order to pursue streaming full-time on Twitch. However, he still continues to remain as a part of the Rooster Teeth family as a part-time employee by fully returning and continuing to participate on Rooster Teeth projects he has contributed in such as X-Ray and Vav and the Internet Box Podcast, still attend RTX and definitely still show up in Rooster Teeth videos, podcasts and other shows every now and then.
- Six months later after Ray left Achievement Hunter, Jeremy was officially promoted towards the new main 6th host/cast member replacing Ray.
- Rage Quit is how Michael Jones was hired, as the show quickly became very popular.
Team names
- See main article: Achievement Hunter Teams.
Achievement Hunters frequently choose team names. Often, team names are referenced and appear on merchandise.
| Member | Team Lads | Team Gents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gavin | Michael | Jeremy | Geoff | Jack | Ryan | ||
| Team
Lads |
Gavin | Team Nice Dynamite | Boston Tea Party | Plan G | Team Trial & Error | Team Love 'n' Stuff | |
| Michael | Team Nice Dynamite | Team Short Temper | Dynamic Dumb-Asses | Betting Buddies | Team Crazy Mad | ||
| Jeremy | Boston Tea Party | Team Short Temper | Jumbo Shrimp | Battle Buddies | |||
| Team
Gents |
Geoff | Plan G | Dynamic Dumb-Asses | Team O.G. | Team Magnum Dong | ||
| Jack | Team Trial & Error | Betting Buddies | Jumbo Shrimp | The O.G. | Team Same Voice | ||
| Ryan | Team Love 'n' Stuff | Team Crazy Mad | The Battle Buddies | Team Magnum Dong | Team Same Voice | ||
Gallery
References
- ↑ http://resolution-magazine.co.uk/content/interview-geoff-ramsey-and-jack-patillo-on-achievement-hunter/
- ↑ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b5RSkI5NnD4NbMkn99__yEBQVefJ038knOA8dFULvkI/edit#gid=0
- ↑ http://archive.is/VDh3M
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmV8oCxUvO0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kUZGNVx020
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3amNszSuXZA
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpyEGvUZ64A
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-NECBLryfw
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdEkM0TtZXg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5P-WqVZz1M
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Z66R_Z5C4
- ↑ https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5892506ef7e0abd10f288d9b/t/5988c6e3d482e9a75f00370f/1502136036989/History-of-Rooster-Teeth-and-Family-final.pdf
- ↑ http://www.loadthegame.com/2016/04/30/achievement-hunter-visits-new-low-point-with-theater-mode/
- ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/03/audiences-are-lining-up-to-watch-this-guy-play-video-games-badly.html
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/7xjw7v/a_miracle_has_happened_the_achievement_hunter/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/4dxr8l/lindsay_runs_achievement_hunter_just_announced_on/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/4e8bgo/who_is_the_boss_of_achievement_hunter/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/jack_p/status/936761210602651649
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/7gztk1/today_is_jacks_eight_year_anniversary_at_rooster/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/1jnj3x/interested_in_seeing_each_one_of_the_lads_first/cbgf4v7/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/6hht1s/today_is_ryans_sixth_year_at_achievement_hunter/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZC5Lt2vkR0
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ah_michael/status/765180766770778113?lang=en
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeQ683uxnic
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJTmV0qyz-0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P0ijneWxyo
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN6Yj58wSyg
- ↑ https://twitter.com/gavinfree/status/831252343471665156?lang=en
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25VzBXdvfaU
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ah_michael/status/698867863797395457
- ↑ https://twitter.com/gavinfree/status/831252343471665156?lang=en
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ah_michael/status/831722485947232256
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/1y1nss/happy_anniversary_gavin_and_michael/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/GavinFree/status/963797249384992773
- ↑ https://twitter.com/GavinFree/status/963802665783300096
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/7xjb7w/gavin_been_at_rooster_teeth_for_six_years/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/5w0gbc/trevor_taking_over_the_role_of_supervising/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/4lir6y/question_about_ah_hierarchy/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/4e8bgo/who_is_the_boss_of_achievement_hunter/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Achievement_Hunter/comments/7xyucu/so_how_exactly_did_trevor_become_the_boss_of_ah_i/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/5w0gbc/trevor_taking_over_the_role_of_supervising/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/_TrevorC/status/931560865140264960
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/6t2jhp/alfredo_is_the_new_achievement_hunter/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/AchievementHunt/status/1101600017389780992
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/aw9wf2/fiona_has_been_hired_by_achievement_hunter/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/larrymatovina/status/835254988859404288
- ↑ https://twitter.com/TheSteffie/status/725735342565814272
- ↑ https://twitter.com/The_KentC/status/1108802107958714368
- ↑ http://archive.is/mAe45
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kEPqyTMLwQ
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmo1Ln2xUIg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Bv69rg77A
- ↑ https://old.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/9yb234/novemburns_was_amazing_and_i_wouldnt_complain_if/
- ↑ https://old.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/9y8gu3/burnie_just_join_ah_permanently_and_get_it_over/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/burnie/status/1059605540496687104
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slyr8ufHY6E
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1YuD9SYFn0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db0sNca-qI4
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tihfx6DunZs
- ↑ https://twitter.com/maxbarnyard/status/882416946423238656
- ↑ https://twitter.com/_TrevorC/status/994685777639624705
- ↑ https://twitter.com/AndyTheBlanch/status/1172264034999160839
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