MatPat opens up on future projects after Game Theory retirement

YouTube star MatPat spoke with us about his plans for the future in an exclusive interview after announcing his retirement from Game Theory earlier this year.

MatPat is moving on from his role as the face of Game Theory after nearly fifteen years of making content on YouTube.

The influencer announced his retirement in January, sending the internet reeling and sparking a viral debate about longtime creators choosing to step back from their jobs.

We got the chance to speak with MatPat about his plans after retirement — and he shared a few exciting projects he’s got lined up for the future.

YouTube: The Style Theorists

MatPat announces creator-focused fashion show

Although he’s no longer hosting the Theorist channels, MatPat assured us that he’s still going to produce content and will even make cameos in other YouTubers’ videos for the occasional collaboration. However, the exact kind of content he’ll be cooking up is far bigger than what the Theorists are known for, and one of his next enterprises is already almost here.

“While I’m giving up hosting the channels and the channels will live on without me, I’m still creating stuff,” he explained. “I’m still gonna appear in other people’s YouTube videos and do collabs, and I have more time for that now. But it’s also me getting to focus and turn my attention to other creative projects — bigger scale things that I’ve always wanted to create.”

In fact, MatPat claimed that he’s kicking off a creator-focused fashion show that will launch in April 2024, featuring products from major influencers like Simply Nailogical, Blogilates, and more.

“One of the big projects we’ve been working on is this fashion show,” he told us. “YouTube and digital influencers are creating more popular brands, really high quality products. We see that with Feastables, you see that with Prime, but also in the apparel space. You have Cassie Ho with POPFLEX, you have Simply Nailogical with Holo Taco and her nail brand.

“There’s no outlet that truly is a place to really showcase those and highlight those. And one of my goals as a content creator has always been to uplift the space and help creators get the attention and respect that they deserve. One of my big projects that I’ve been working on in the background is this fashion show, which is bringing together creators from all these different verticals to showcase their apparel line and their products in the beauty and fashion space.

It’s literally like Fashion Week for YouTubers where it’s like, ‘Hey, we are doing thoughtful, creative, high quality, products that should be appreciated just like you see on runways elsewhere.’ It’s something I’m really excited about.”

MatPat also revealed to us that he’s working on a “music mystery project,” saying he wants to be able to make his own IP and use what he’s learned in the space to pioneer a new age of digital storytelling.

“We’ve been covering other people’s IP for the better part of 13 years now, and it’s like, ‘Well, we know how to create our own IP. We know how to tell stories. We know what works with our audience. We should be creating that IP ourselves.’ Because so much of the day is spent in the week-over-week episodes, now that I’m stepping out of that process, I can look at, ‘Hey, how do we tell the next generation of stories?’ And, ‘How do we tell stories that we own and that are purely digital first, and change the way narratives get told to an online audience?’”

After spending so many years with the Theorists, MatPat is now able to give back to the community with these new projects and create a positive impact of a different kind.

“I love creating stuff for our audience and I love helping the digital video space,” he said. “Being able to slow down allows me to take some bigger swings, allows us to focus on some bigger projects that might have a bigger impact that we think have been missing from the space for a while, and give back to the creator community and the audience that’s supported us all these years.”

MatPat calls VidCon Anaheim his “farewell tour”

MatPat will attend VidCon Anaheim as a Featured Creator, which kicks off from June 26-29. We asked him about his feelings on interacting with his fans at this convention following the shell-shocking news of his retirement.

He told us that he plans to orchestrate a special live event at this year’s VidCon, and will use the opportunity to spend time with his fans one last time before setting off on his new journey post-Game Theory.

“It’s funny — this year is really kind of like the ‘farewell tour’ in a lot of ways,” he admitted. “This weekend is the final episode of Game Theory. That’s kind of my farewell to the audience on the main Theory channel. But I see VidCon as hat last big ‘touch base’ to hang out with the fans in person at one major event.”

“We’re going to do a big live show there, where we just get to play with the fans. That’s what I’ve always loved about VidCon, and that’s why we always try to say yes to VidCon when they invite us over. It is the go-to place for us to have that physical interaction with our fans in a positive, uplifting way and at a scale that feels substantial.”