MatPat Announced His Retirement From YouTube After 13 Years of Posting Videos

In a new video titled "Goodbye Internet," MatPat, the creator behind The Game Theorists, announced that he is retiring from YouTube. The creator, whose real name is Matthew Patrick, has been posting videos to YouTube for 13 years. He became a prolific and highly successful creator during that time.

Now, following the announcement of his retirement, many want to better understand why he decided to leave YouTube after so much success. Here's what we know about MatPat's decision to quit, and what he said in his video announcement.

In the video, Matthew announced that his last day hosting the YouTube channel will be March 9, 2024, after which he will be handing it off to someone else. Matthew first started the channel in 2011 with his wife Stephanie to discuss the lore and theories behind popular video games. He eventually created spin-off channels dedicated to style, film, and food, all under the same brand.

“For me, and my journey in this place, I always wanted to go out on a high note,” he explained in the video. “And when you stop and look at the last year, this has been the best year in the Theorist lifespan, no joke.”

The Game Theorists channel currently sits at more than 18 million subscribers.

Matthew explained that he was actually leaving his channels behind for a remarkably simple reason: He wants to spend more time with his family.

“We knew that honestly, we didn’t want to do this forever,” he said. “As much as I love you and I love overthinking things, and I love theorizing, I don’t love late nights.”

“I miss the days where I could just sit down on the couch with [Stephanie] and play video games, and it’s not for content,” he continued. “Or I’m playing a game, and I’m not thinking about what theories are gonna come out of that. I miss it.”

Although Matthew clearly believes he made the right decision in leaving his channel behind, he was also emotional as he discussed how much the channel had meant to him over the years.

He said that he still plans to be involved in the backend of running the channels and that he will also make appearances on some of the spin-off channels, including a Style Theorists series he's planning to host in April.

Matthew is among several recent prominent YouTube creators who have announced that they are stepping back from their platforms. Others include science creator Tom Scott and Minecraft gamer CaptainSparklez, both of whom were early YouTube creators who grew massive followings.

Like Matthew, they also felt drained by the constant need to create new content, and recognized that their life had been overly focused on work and specifically on their channels. Unlike those guys, though, Matthew seems to have a plan in place to keep his channels going even if he plays a less prominent role than he used to. Here's hoping they continue to be excellent.