Skip to content

MatPat retires from YouTube

Alexandra W

Alexandra W

· 4 min read
Streamers Streamers News
MatPat retires from YouTube

Retirement isn't a theory anymore.

Matthew “MatPat” Patrick, pillar of the YouTube community, is retiring from YouTube. MatPat has been the creator and host of the Game Theory channel, and its offshoots, since 2011. The popular YouTuber announced his retirement in a tearful video posted on his channel.

His last day hosting the channel will be March 9, according to his recent video titled “Goodbye Internet”.

Why is MatPat retiring?

In his retirement video, MatPat made it clear that he is retiring to spend more time with his family. He stated that “we didn’t want to do this forever,” and that, “as much as I love you and I love overthinking things, and I love theorizing, I don’t love late nights.”  

The constant content grind that has lasted for well over a decade has left MatPat satisfied, but tired. When speaking about why he’s retiring now, MatPat said “I always wanted to go out on a high note and when you stop and look at the last year, this has been the best year in the Theorist lifespan, no joke.”

MatPat in his "Goodbye Internet" video, section titled 'Try Not to Cry Challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)'
MatPat in his “Goodbye Internet” video, section titled ‘Try Not to Cry Challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)’ (image via The Game Theorists on YouTube)

And he’s not wrong, the last year has been a very successful one for MatPat and his YouTube empire. The most notable achievement in the last year was his cameo in the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. It became the highest-grossing horror movie of the year. It was also the highest-ever grossing movie from Blumhouse Studios. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s is a franchise that MatPat helped grow, as both the game series and his channel symbiotically built each other up in their early years. It makes sense that he would decide to retire after hitting a milestone like that.

“I always wanted to go out on a high note.”

MatPat in his most recent video

MatPat’s YouTube Career

MatPat has been an integral part of the fabric of YouTube since 2011. His very first Game Theory video, in fact, was posted on April 18, 2011, about Chrono Trigger. From that point forward, his channel grew steadily in subscriber count as well as viewership. By December 2013, his Game Theory channel gained 1 million subscribers. Then, in 2014, MatPat expanded his “Theory” series to Film Theory and Food Theory. 

Also in that year, he posted his first Five Nights at Freddy’s Theory video, after asking Twitter whether he should cover FNAF or Slender Man. Of MatPat’s top ten most popular videos, FNAF is the subject of eight of them. 

In the years following, MatPat served as a main character in the realm of YouTube. His videos always achieved a top ten status on release and he was regularly featured in collab videos with other major creators. He even spoke with the CEO of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki about the state of YouTube in a 38-minute interview posted on his channel. In his final full year on YouTube, MatPat Streamy Awards in August, which was viewed by roughly 15 million people, more than double the previous year, and was featured in Five Nights at Freddy’s.

At the time of his retirement announcement, the Game Theory channel has 18.5 million subscribers.

YouTuber reactions

Below are some reactions from the biggest YouTubers, expressing their sadness to see MatPat retire and their excitement for his future.

Hopefully, MatPat will continue to post YouTube in the future with his passion, love, and amazing videos. Based on his video, it seems likely that he will continue to work with YouTube in a smaller role in the future. But that’s just a theory.

For more news on YouTubers and other esports news, check back on esports.gg!