Over the years, Internet legends have come and gone. Content creators have been around for as long as the Internet itself. In particular, YouTube as a platform has historically been instrumental in creating Internet icons, from Smosh and Jenna Marbles to Logan Paul and Mr Beast. Many creators have come and gone, but not many have had the staying power of one Matthew Patrick.
Initially teased on April 14, 2011, the first Game Theory video premiered four days later on April 18. MatPat applied real-world mathematical, scientific, and historical concepts to video games, a unique concept that was inspired by the “Tangential Learning” episode of the series EXTRA CREDITS.
Soon, the phrase: “But that’s just a theory… a Game Theory” became one of the most identifiable references in Internet history. From there, his YouTube channel empire only grew, extending to movies with Film Theory and clothing with Style Theory. He also has GTLive, a place where all of his stream VODS are archived.
After a long thirteen-year run, MatPat announced that he would officially be handing over the channels to other staff members starting March 9, 2024 to focus on his personal life and family.
MatPat has undoubtedly reached many people, including students at Heritage. Many have expressed their surprise at this sudden announcement considering that his newest channel, Style Theory, was only launched in early 2023.
“That man raised me,” Julia P. ’27 describes. “I don’t blame him for leaving, but also I’m gonna miss him so much.”
As MatPat expressed in his announcement video, he’s glad that he was able to build such a strong community among his followers and that he was able to bring people together.
“I used to watch his videos alone at the lunch table in like 6/7th grade and bonded with my best friend in middle school over his videos,” Aki S. ’24 explains.
Many Heritage students have expressed their well wishes to MatPat and his wife Stephanie as they step away from YouTube. All eyes will be on the Theorist channels to see how what these new voices will bring to the table.