YouTube fixture MatPat to retire from The Game Theorists
MatPat is retiring ... sort of. In a video uploaded earlier today, the 37-year-old YouTuber announced he will host his last video on his Game Theorists YouTube channel on March 9. After that, he will hand the channel and its three spin-offs — Film Theory, Food Theory, and Style Theory — over to four members of his staff.
MatPat, whose given name is Matthew Patrick, created his Game Theory series in 2011. His highly-edited, fast-paced videos exploring game lore remain among the platform's most celebrated and long-running projects, and have spawned multiple related channels that have accumulated over 40 million combined subscribers.
Patrick and his wife and COO Stephanie have also become some of YouTube's most recognizable and interesting creative forces off the platform. They've raised over $5 million for St. Jude's Hospital through charity live streams and co-produced the Broadway play Grey House in 2023.
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The Patricks have also pioneered new ways for online creators to turn YouTube channels into a viable business: in 2022, the couple sold The Game Theorists to a U.K.-based startup called LunarX in an attempt to expand the channel's programming without snuffing out their creativity in the process.
In the video announcing his retirement from The Game Theorists, Patrick notes that the wear and tear of content creation played a large role in his decision to step down. "I don't love the fact that Steph and I have been work-first for over a decade ... I miss the days where I could just sit down on the couch with her and play video games and it's not for content."
Still, Patrick plans to stay involved in content development on the backend of the business and even appear on the business's other channels. He also plans to livestream on his GT Live channel through the end of the summer and says he will host a Style Theory series about creator-crafted fashion lines in April.
Patrick's is the latest in a line of YouTube creators who have recently announced their semi-retirement from the platform. On Jan. 1, science creator Tom Scott announced he would be stepping back from his channel for the foreseeable future and, in December, gaming creator CaptainSparklez announced he would stop posting Minecraft gameplay videos after 13 years.
Elizabeth is a digital culture reporter covering the internet's influence on self-expression, fashion, and fandom. Her work explores how technology shapes our identities, communities, and emotions. Before joining Mashable, Elizabeth spent six years in tech. Her reporting can be found in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, TIME, and Teen Vogue. Follow her on Instagram here.
