This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Alexandrea Ciardella. Find her on Instagram at @a6ysma1. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
On January 9th, Matthew ‘MatPat’ Patrick uploaded a video to his Game Theory channel announcing his retirement. The video, simply titled “Goodbye Internet”, describes his plans for the next few months as he begins to transition his career, planning to officially retire on March 9th with one final video. The Internet was shocked, as MatPat has played an integral role on YouTube for the past thirteen years, with thousands of videos on theories about gaming, film, food, and fashion populating the platform. So then why is MatPat retiring, and what does this mean for the future of YouTube?
MatPat explains in the video that there are many reasons why he chose to retire this year. The decision has been in the works for the last three years, explaining the recent changes to the Theory brand, including hiring more employees and partnering with a larger company to produce videos for the channels. This was all to ensure that when MatPat retired, the quality of Theory videos would remain the same. But the main reason was due to wanting to focus on his personal life more. MatPat explains that most of his career demanded late nights working on the channel. He decided that he would take a step down from his role as the figurehead of the Theory brand.
This decision also comes from the current state of his channels. As of now, the Theory brand boasts five individual channels, Game Theory, Film Theory, Style Theory, Food Theory and GTLive, MatPat’s Let’s Play channel. They’re not failing- quite the opposite. According to statistics, 2023 was one of the best years for the Theory brand; each channel received an increase in viewership, alongside the successful launch of the Style Theory channel as one of YouTube’s most popular fashion channels. MatPat decided that he would like to end his YouTube career on a high note, while all of his channels are doing well. He states that it wasn’t an easy decision, but ultimately decided that now would be the best time.
Despite his retirement, the four theory channels (Game, Film, Food, Style) will continue with new hosts. These hosts have worked closely with MatPat over the years and have already debuted through shorts and videos. MatPat will still be working behind the scenes as a creative director for all four channels, planning new videos and guiding the new hosts during their first year. GTLive is scheduled to continue until late Summer, though the status of that channel after that point remains unknown.
To be honest, I didn’t watch MatPat’s goodbye video at first. I was too sad to continue past his initial announcement of retirement. I’ve been watching his channel for many years now and have enjoyed a lot of the theories that he has posted. He has inspired a whole generation to think outside of the box by theorizing and researching. To see him go so suddenly, with only a few months to prepare, is a daunting idea. It took a lot of emotional energy for me to finish the video, knowing that very soon MatPat will make his last appearance. I know that everyone on YouTube will miss him. MatPat’s last official video/stream will premiere on Saturday, March 9th on the Game Theory channel.
Were you wondering why is MatPat retiring? Leave a comment below on what you think.
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