The Game Theorists co-creator Matthew Patrick - more known for his internet alias "MatPat" - announced his retirement as presenter of his YouTube channel of the same name, as well as its other affiliated channels, after 13 years on the platform and 18.4 million subscribers.
In a video uploaded on Wednesday (January 10), MatPat explained the reasons why he decided to relinquish his duties as principal presenter of The Game Theorists, The Film Theorists, The Food Theorists, and The Style Theorists, as well as his group's live reaction channel, GTLive, citing his wish to focus more on his family and pursue his own creative projects behind the scenes.
All five YouTube channels amassed a combined total of 42 million subscribers, according to Gamerant.
Patrick's on-screen retirement would be preceded by at least nine more videos on The Game Theorists before it would take effect on March 9.
His decision to step away at the peak of Theorist Media's success was partially influenced by other big YouTubers stepping away from their content, as well as the changing landscape of social media, specifically in the video platform format.
"I love you guys. I do," he said on the announcement video. "You're not just numbers, you're not just ad impressions, you're not just merch sales. What you have done for me ... and what I have done for you is special."
(Photo : Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Metacore/Merge Mansion)
More Than Just Theories
Theorist Media is the brainchild of MatPat and his wife Stephanie Patrick, who take the roles of CEO and COO, respectively.
Prior to its success, the Patricks were directly involved with the channels they created. However, with the birth of their son Ollie and the meteoric rise of the couple's venture into theorizing pop culture, they were faced with the difficult decision to have their company acquired by Lunar X in December 2022 to streamline content schedule and slowly hand over presenter and scriptwriting duties to their production team for the most part of 2023.
In particular, MatPat announced that the artistic directors of each of the YouTube channels of Theorist Media would succeed him as showrunners.
Stephanie was the first to step back from regular on-camera appearances in 2021 to focus more on motherhood and Theorist Media's day-to-day operations. It is also expected that MatPat will remain with Theorist Media in his capacity as co-creator and CEO beyond March 9.
The Game Theorists began its life as a channel delving into the lore of games such as Five Nights at Freddy's and Minecraft and expanded its deep dives into films and videos, food and beverage, and style and fashion.
