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MatPat
Patrick in 2020
Born
Matthew Robert Patrick

(1986-11-15) November 15, 1986 (age 37)
Medina, Ohio, U.S.
Alma materDuke University (BA)
Occupations
Spouse
Stephanie Cordato
​
(m. 2012)​
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
GenreGaming[1]
Subscribers
  • 18.7 million (main channel)
  • 39 million (combined)[a]
[2]
Total views
  • 4 billion (main channel)
  • 9 billion (combined)[b]
[2]
NetworkLong Haul Management Clients & Partners[3]/ Studio 71[4]
100,000 subscribers2013, 2015, 2020, 2023
1,000,000 subscribers2013, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023
10,000,000 subscribers2018, 2021
Last updated: January 15, 2024

Matthew Robert Patrick (born November 15, 1986), better known as MatPat, is an American YouTuber and internet personality. He is the creator of the YouTube series Game Theory, and its spin-off series Film Theory, Food Theory, and Style Theory, each analyzing various video games, films alongside TV series and web series, food, and fashion respectively. Each of the different series are posted on individual channels, each named after the respective series. In addition to the creation of his channels, Patrick narrates the majority of the videos that are presented on his channels.

Patrick has also created the gaming channel GTLive and hosted the YouTube Premium series MatPat's Game Lab and the 2023 Streamy Awards. As of September 2023, Patrick has amassed over 40 million subscribers, as well as over eight billion total views across all five of his channels. On January 9, 2024, Patrick announced that he would depart from hosting the channels on March 9, but would still make appearances until mid-2024.[1]

Early life and education

Matthew Robert Patrick[5] was born on November 15, 1986,[6] in Medina, Ohio.[7]: 02:00  He was nicknamed "MatPat" by his friends in sixth grade. An only child, Patrick was interested in video games, theater and school early on.[7]: 01:50–03:20  He was the valedictorian of his high school and received an academic scholarship to Duke University,[8] graduating in 2009 with a double major in theater and psychology with a concentration in neuroscience.[9]

Career

To fulfill his dream of becoming an actor, Patrick moved to New York after graduating and performed in theater productions to little success, spending two years unemployed.[7]: 04:20–06:15  His first YouTube videos were auditions for stage plays. In 2011, he decided to revamp his channel as a "portfolio" which could demonstrate to potential employers his ability to write, research, and edit videos online.[9] Inspired by an Extra Credits episode on tangential learning,[8] Patrick uploaded the first episode of "Game Theory" on April 18, 2011.[10] It discussed the quantum mechanics in the 1995 video game Chrono Trigger.[9]

The channel slowly gained subscribers and his videos were posted on the front pages of sites such as ScrewAttack and GameTrailers.[11] In 2012, Patrick introduced two new segments hosted by fellow YouTubers Gaijin Goombah and Ronnie Edwards, and Austin Hourigan's "The SCIENCE!".[12] In 2014, Patrick launched the spin-off channel "Film Theory", which covers movies and television.[10] This channel reached over one million subscribers in a month.[13]

He occasionally uploaded videos commenting on the gaming market and gamers, as well as on other matters that he deemed noteworthy.[14]

Patrick with his wife Stephanie in 2018

Patrick started a Let's Play series called GTLive on August 26, 2015,[15] where he posts gameplay and video reactions with his wife Stephanie. Starting on October 3, 2016, the Monday streams became part of YouTube Gaming Primetime, and were therefore scheduled for 3 pm to 5 pm PST. It also included a voting mechanism, which can be used by Patrick to conduct quick polls.[16] As of March 2022, GTLive had 2.94 million subscribers and over 649 million views. As of 2022, the GTLive channel continues to upload mostly unedited, pre-recorded content.

On June 8, 2016, Patrick posted via his YouTube channel a new show, MatPat's Game Lab, on Google's paid subscription service, YouTube Premium. The show mainly focused on placing video game players in real life scenarios mimicking scenarios that occur in video games, such as bomb defusing, parkour, survival and military training.[17][18] Despite MatPat's interest in developing a second season, YouTube did not announce any further development into the project.[19] He was also a part of the YouTube Premium series Scare PewDiePie (2016),[20] created by PewDiePie, and the third season of Escape the Night (2018), created by Joey Graceffa, in addition to cameo appearances in Markiplier's YouTube Original films A Heist with Markiplier (2019) and In Space with Markiplier (2022).

On May 29, 2016, Patrick and eleven other YouTubers met with Pope Francis for an hour. Patrick asked the Pope to encourage others to "fight for what's right" and gifted him a copy of Undertale (2015), saying that its recurrent theme of mercy fits the Pope's proclamation that 2016 would be the "year of mercy for the Catholic church".[21][22]

In 2019, The Game Theorists held a 9-hour charity livestream that generated $1.3 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[23] The stream included guests Markiplier, TheOdd1sOut, Rosanna Pansino, Scott Cawthon, and others.[23] Two other charity streams were held for St. Jude in 2020 and 2021, respectively.[24][25]

The third Theory channel, and fourth overall; The Food Theorists, began releasing videos in July 2020. The Food Theorists, using the same style as its predecessors, blends food science with psychology, physiology, and conspiracy.[26] The channel was being developed for two years prior to its launch.[27] As of October 2022, The Food Theorists had 4 million subscribers and over 499 million views. It had reached 1 million subscribers exactly a week after launch, and had then gained another million over the succeeding 4 months.[28]

On December 20, 2022, a fourth Theory channel, and fifth overall, was announced on the Game Theory channel,[29] along with the purchase of their company Theorist Media by startup Lunar X.[30] On February 18, 2023, The Style Theorists was launched. Like the other channels, it focuses on the science, math, history, psychology, and mystery of fashion. It reached a million subscribers three days later.

Patrick also made cameo appearances in multiple installments of YouTube Rewind.

On August 27, 2023, MatPat hosted the Streamy Awards,[31][32] which scored 15 million views across digital platforms in its first 48 hours, beating the 2021 record of 9.7 million views as the most-watched show in its 13-year history.[33]

On January 9, 2024, MatPat announced in a video titled "Goodbye Internet" that he would step down from hosting the channels on March 9,[1] and would be replaced by a different member of the Theorist team for each channel, while still retaining a creative role and making occasional appearances on the channels, along with GTLive, until mid-2024.[34] While he joked that his decision was inspired by Tom Scott, who had recently ended his decade-long run of posting weekly videos, Patrick said that he and his wife had been working towards the change for years.[35] Patrick additionally revealed that following the departure, he would continue to pursue creative projects, such as developing a mystery lo-fi series.[36]

Other media and collaborations

Patrick was involved in the web series Terrain of Magical Expertise. He gained the series more attention and exposure by uploading a remastered version of the first episode on the channel on October 1, 2013, and then providing a platform for the series.[37][38] Patrick, alongside Cordato, Sundman, Hourigan and Edwards, also contributed their likeness and voices for self-parodied opponents in the video game adaptation.[citation needed] The game was released on Steam on September 9, 2021.

A character based on Patrick was included in The Walking Dead: Road to Survival (2015).[39] In 2017, Patrick and his wife Stephanie participated in Nintendo's Pokkén Tournament DX Invitational, an event held during E3 2017. He was paired with Allister Singh, the only pro-Pokkén Tournament player in the event. His team eventually won the tournament.[40] Patrick voiced Computron in the animated series Transformers: Titans Return (2017).[41]

In 2016, Patrick hosted the go90 reality series The Runner.[42] In 2019, Patrick partnered with Nickelodeon to make the show Fact or Nicktion.[43] In this show, Patrick examined various phenomena in Nickelodeon shows, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Rugrats to determine whether they could or couldn't happen in real life.

Patrick is a co-producer of the Broadway play Grey House.[44]

Patrick's videos about the video game series Five Nights at Freddy's have made him prominent within the series' fandom, which is known for its dedication to theorizing about the underlying narrative of the series.[45] He made a cameo appearance in its 2023 film adaptation as a waiter.[46]

Personal life

Patrick is married to Stephanie Patrick (née Cordato), whom he met while studying at Duke University. The two became close after creating a Legend of Zelda parody called "The Epic of Stew". They married on May 19, 2012.[47] Their son Oliver was born in 2018,[48] and the family currently divides their time between living in California and North Carolina.[49]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2015 Streamy Awards Gaming The Game Theorists Nominated [50]
Editing Nominated
2016 Shorty Awards Tech and Innovation: Gaming Nominated [51]
Streamy Awards Show of the Year Nominated [52]
Gaming Won
Non-Fiction MatPat's Game Lab Nominated
Virtual Reality and 360 Won
2017 Shorty Awards Tech and Innovation: Gaming Himself Nominated
Streamy Awards Editing The Game Theorists Won
Immersive The Global Gamer Nominated
2018 Streamy Awards Subject: Pop Culture Game Theory Nominated
Editing Nominated
2019 Streamy Awards Gaming The Game Theorists Won
2021 Streamy Awards Writing Won

YouTube channels

Channels
Channel name Main host Topic Release date Subscribers Number of videos
The Game Theorists MatPat (2011–2024)
Tom Robinson (2024–) 		Solving the mysteries of games August 22, 2009 18.7 million 667
The Film Theorists MatPat (2014–2024)
Lee Collins (2024–) 		Learning the secrets of films May 12, 2014 12.7 million 463
The Food Theorists MatPat (2020–2024)
Santiago Massa (2024–) 		Explaining theories about food May 29, 2020 5.12 million 198
The Style Theorists MatPat (2023–2024)
Amy Roberts (2024–) 		Exploring the science around fashion February 18, 2023 2.42 million 87
GTLive MatPat (2015–2024) Playing and analyzing video games August 26, 2015 3.44 million 1,318

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Transformers: Titans Return Computron Voice role[53]
2018 Transformers: Power of the Primes Swoop Voice role[54]
2023 Five Nights at Freddy's Ness Credited as Sparky's Diner waiter; reference to episode of Game Theory: "Undertale - Sans's SECRET Identity!"[55][56]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Subscribers, broken down by channel:
    18.4 million (The Game Theorists)
    12.3 million (The Film Theorists)
    4.83 million (The Food Theorists)
    2.09 million (The Style Theorists)
    3.3 million (GTLive)
  2. ^ Views, broken down by channel:
    3.82 billion (The Game Theorists)
    2.59 billion (The Film Theorists)
    675 million (The Food Theorists)
    49.04 million (The Style Theorists)
    721 million (GTLive)

References

  1. ^ a b c Jones, CT (January 9, 2024). "YouTuber MatPat Announces Retirement". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "About The Game Theorists". YouTube.
  3. ^ "Roster". Long Haul Management Clients & Partners. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  4. ^ The Game Theorists, Socialblade. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  5. ^ Patrick, Matthew Robert [@MatPatGT] (October 24, 2016). "Just got ordained to officiate Jason's wedding. But I can do house blessings and funerals too! I'M A ONE-STOP SHOP! #PastorPat" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Patrick, Matthew [@MatPatGT] (November 15, 2012). "Today's my birthday. Best comment so far: "I was 26 when I was your age."" (Tweet). Retrieved March 24, 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ a b c Patrick, Matthew (September 25, 2013). Draw My Life - Game Theory, MatPat, and YOU! (Videotape). The Game Theorists.
  8. ^ a b Gutelle, Sam (February 27, 2014). "YouTube Millionaires: The Game Theorists Think Hard About Video Games". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Hernandez, Patricia (June 8, 2016). "Meet The King Of YouTube Fan Theories". Kotaku. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Alexander, Julia (March 20, 2021). "MatPat looks at YouTube's biggest changes over the last decade — and what lies ahead". The Verge. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Theorist Media About". Theorist Media. Theorist Inc. November 13, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  12. ^ The History Of The Game Theorists | A Brief History, retrieved December 15, 2022
  13. ^ Klima, Jeff (July 9, 2015). "MatPat Theorizes How He Hit 1MM Subscribers In A Month On His Film Theorists Channel [INTERVIEW]". NewMediaRockstars. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Game Theory: YouTube Is Broken, Even For PewDiePie". New Media Rockstars. December 23, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  15. ^ GT Live: FNAF Chat with MatPat! on YouTube
  16. ^ "YouTube launches Primetime Gaming Lineup with Interactive Technology from Megaphone TV". Megaphone TV. September 30, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  17. ^ "YouTube Teases 'Red' Series From CollegeHumor, The Game Theorists, Joey Graceffa In Latest Trailer". Tubefilter. May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  18. ^ "YouTube Red gives Game Theorists star MatPat a science-meets-video games show". VentureBeat. October 21, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  19. ^ "MatPat's Game Lab Cancelled Or Renewed For Season 2?". Renew Cancel TV. Cancelled and Renewed TV shows News. June 8, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  20. ^ LEVEL 6 | THE ULTIMATE HANG, retrieved October 26, 2022
  21. ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (May 31, 2016). "Pope Francis met with a bunch of YouTube vloggers. Here's what he told them". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  22. ^ Good, Owen S. (July 6, 2016). "Someone gave the pope a copy of Undertale". Polygon. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Weiss, Geoff (December 4, 2019). "The Game Theorists' Star-Studded Stream Raises $1.3 Million — And Counting — For St. Jude". Tubefilter. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  24. ^ The Game Theory $1,000,000 Challenge for St. Jude! ft. MrBeast, Markiplier, Dream, Pokimane, & more!, retrieved October 26, 2022
  25. ^ The Game Theory $1,000,000 Challenge for St. Jude! ft. MrBeast, Dream, Markiplier & more!, retrieved October 26, 2022
  26. ^ Food Theory: The MicRib Conspiracy! (McDonald's), retrieved February 10, 2023
  27. ^ "Matthew and Stephanie Patrick Add Fourth Channel to 'Theorist' Portfolio for Food Investigations". July 23, 2020.
  28. ^ "Chuck E. Cheese's insists it doesn't recycle pizza after Shane Dawson conspiracy goes viral - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
  29. ^ Game Theory: This is Not My Channel, retrieved December 20, 2022
  30. ^ Dodgson, Lindsay (December 21, 2022). "The Game Theorists Have Sold Their YouTube Company to a Startup". Business Insider. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  31. ^ Jones, CT (August 15, 2023). "Streamys Host MatPat on Starting 'Game Theorists,' Supporting Creators". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  32. ^ Youshaei, Jon (August 27, 2023). "YouTube Veteran Matthew Patrick To Host 2023 Streamy Awards On Sunday". Forbes. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  33. ^ Zee, Michaela (January 9, 2024). "MatPat Announces Retirement From YouTube". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  34. ^ Goodbye Internet. The Game Theorists. January 9, 2024. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via YouTube.
  35. ^ Peters, Jay (January 10, 2024). "More big YouTubers are stepping back". The Verge. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  36. ^ Goodbye Internet, retrieved January 12, 2024
  37. ^ "YouTube Updates 'n Vlogs + New TOME stuff COMING SOON!". Newgrounds. Kirbopher. December 6, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2017. I haven't been able to get Google Adsense to work on my YouTube channel for well over a year. The "experiment" was MatPat would be uploading TOME episodes and shorts to their channel as a new show (since they have 3 shows on the GT channel) and giving me a cut of the revenue each month. However, the show didn't perform as well as we were hoping within the first two episodes, so it was ultimately decided to pull it from their channel.
  38. ^ "TOME now on Game Theorist YT & Progress Report". Newgrounds. Kirbopher. October 9, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2017. MatPat and the Game Theorist crew reached out to me, as fans of the show, and wanted to give it more exposure. So, they've graciously invited me to be part of their channel and help TOME reach a bigger audience than before.
  39. ^ Film Theory: King Kong's Secret Past - SOLVED! (Kong: Skull Island). The Film Theorists. April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
  40. ^ Myers, Maddy (June 14, 2017). "The Sole Pokken Pro Won The E3 Pokken Tournament Invitational, Unsurprisingly". Compete. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  41. ^ "'Transformers: Prime Wars Trilogy' Adds Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime in "Titans Return"". Collider.com. July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  42. ^ "As Pokemon Go Thrives, Verizon's Own Bid for Mobile Mania Falters with 'The Runner'". Variety.com. July 18, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  43. ^ "Viacom Digital Studios Readies Facebook Watch Slate With Grace Helbig, MatPat, Joey Graceffa". Tubefilter. September 5, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  44. ^ Evans, Greg (February 21, 2023). "Laurie Metcalf & Tatiana Maslany Set For Broadway Thriller 'Grey House'; Joe Mantello Will Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  45. ^ Paklons, Ana; Tratsaert, An-Sofie (2021), Masschelein, Anneleen; Mussgnug, Florian; Rushworth, Jennifer (eds.), "The cryptographic narrative in video games: the player as detective", Mediating Vulnerability: Comparative approaches and questions of genre, Comparative Literature and Culture, UCL Press, pp. 182–183, doi:10.2307/j.ctv1nnwhjt.14, ISBN 978-1-80008-114-7, JSTOR j.ctv1nnwhjt.14, S2CID 244676592, retrieved July 19, 2023
  46. ^ Robertson, Joshua (October 27, 2023). "Five Nights At Freddy's Features The YouTuber Cameo Everyone Was Hoping For". TheGamer. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  47. ^ : "Matthew Patrick on Instagram: "Six years ago, I married my best friend thinking it was impossible to love her any more than I did on that day…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  48. ^ "Matthew Patrick on Instagram: "It's my greatest honor to introduce you to Oliver Julian Patrick…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  49. ^ "Matthew Patrick on Instagram: "Road trip lunch break!…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  50. ^ Variety Staff (September 17, 2015). "Streamy Awards 2015: Winners List". Variety. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  51. ^ Lee, Ashley (September 17, 2015). "Shorty Awards: The Complete Winners List". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  52. ^ Variety Staff (April 11, 2016). "Streamy Awards 2016: Full Winners List". Variety. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  53. ^ Patrick, Matthew [@MatPatGT] (November 8, 2017). "I'd call that a sin. But don't worry -- I'll pit in a good word with Optimus for you ;)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  54. ^ Burlingame, Russ (April 25, 2018). "'Transformers: Power of the Primes' Trailer Released, Featuring Mark Hamill and Ron Perlman". Comicbook.com.
  55. ^ Duthie, Alex (October 26, 2023). "Does MatPat Cameo In Blumhouse's Five Nights At Freddy's?". coveredgeekly.com.
  56. ^ Patrick, Matthew (October 28, 2023). Film Theory: My Secret’s Out… I’m in the FNAF Movie! (Video). Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via YouTube.

External links

Streamy Awards winners – Channel, Series, or Show
Authority control databases: Artists
Categories