How MatPat’s Game Theorists Became a Billion-View Phenomenon

Across his Theorists channels, Matthew Robert Patrick - MatPat, to you and I - amassed an impressive 41 million subscribers.

With such an empire at his fingertips, this theorist definitely didn’t treat content creation as a game. So how did he do it?

Ready player one? How the game got started

A former theater student and aspiring creator, MatPat’s first video was titled ‘Game Theory: Is Chrono Trigger’s Time Travel Accurate.’

This was something different. This wasn’t another gamer channel just watching someone play through the levels. MatPat wanted to connect with gamers on a deeper level.

That first video also introduced us to what would become his trademark style - enthusiastic presenting, clear and concise explanations, and open invitations to get the discussion going.

And of course, some terrible dad jokes.

Before he was MatPat, Matthew Patrick was himself a studious marketeer and wannabe theater kid.

It’s no coincidence he studied what was working and harnessed it, sprinkling in his own personal quirks to take it to the next step.

Considering he was early to the YouTuber-as-career pipeline, MatPat’s optimizations which helped catapult his Theorists to dizzying heights included:

  1. Intentional thumbnails and visuals: Back in the early 2010s, it wasn’t as simple to make splashy videos that stood out. MatPat’s humor came across in everything from his choice of thumbnails to some trademark visuals, purposely designed to be memorable in their curated amateur vibes
  2. Creating a persona: MatPat was meant to be a peer, not a professional. This was why his visuals aren’t always artist-level quality, and it’s why he committed to his persona of optimistic, inviting and relatable
  3. Video length: Even his video lengths are smart - he would choose videos exceeding 15 minutes, usually allowing YouTube to slot in at least two adverts. This was how they - and he - would make money without it feeling too overt.

Lessons in scaling? If it ain’t broke…

Don't fix it. With his first venture, The Game Theorists, MatPat built a place for conversation - not a lecture.

While his studied and intentional videos were destined for success anyway, what MatPat did well - and what led to a word-of-mouth campaign on gamer forums - was that he didn’t approach his theories as if he was the final word.  

This wasn’t the world according to MatPat - his theories, from the plausible to the left-field, - invited people to chime in. Discussion leads to community, and an active community is how a brand grows.

Seeing how well it worked for games, why stop there? Could he test his theories out even further?

MatPat was able to scale his brand into Film Theorists, The Food Theorists and the Style Theorists for two simple reasons.

  1. He had a similar passion for these topics and could confidently portray that without losing authenticity and authority
  2. He knew his format worked for The Game Theorists, so why wouldn’t it work for different niches?

From theory to thespian

Screenshot of The Game Theorists YouTube Channel

MatPat’s eminence within the gaming and content creator sphere was solidified when he made the leap from the small screen of his YouTube videos to the big screen of the cinema.

Partly because of his contribution to the popularity of the Five Night at Freddy’s survival game, he was invited to appear in the movie adaptation.  

MatPat’s all folks - saying goodbye to Game Theory

In January 2024, it was game (theory) over. MatPat announced his retirement from Internet content creation, wanting to spend more time with his family.

What’s MatPat’s legacy, and what should any content creators take note of?

  1. Think like the business, act like a customer: MatPat applied some savvy skills to grow his brand, but the content itself was always people-first. The topics and direction were always from a place of making connections, not making that coin
  2. Growing a brand doesn’t mean changing a brand: theorizing and connecting with communities isn’t a gaming specific niche, and MatPat understood that. But he kept things true to his style and his areas of interest.

But hey, you don’t have to take our word for it, as the man himself would say, that’s just a theory…

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