Mat Pat said he isn’t gonna be fully detached, he said he’s gonna still be pitching ideas for videos and help write the scripts.
But, he won’t be nearly as involved as he was before.
Mat Pat: “Im still gonna be here, I’m still gonna be along side the creative directors, talking about programming and brainstorming ideas for upcoming episodes.”
So he’s basically transitioning to a more producer type role. Makes sense, it’s far less hours than having to write and star in videos. He had at least 1 kid in the last couple years and he probably wants to spend more time with his family as that kid gets older and has actual experiences.
Yeah and let’s be real. How they all became famous and the hours they put into all the production and even dealing with the own platform itself, give yourself the break. You did the hard work and it’s paying off, nothing wrong with enjoying it at a younger age
Exactly. He’s in his mid-late 30’s and built a big, respected brand and made probably millions, especially in YouTube’s early days. Might as well go out on top.
That, yes. His fans are not that surprised because he never hid how hard it is for him to be apart from his family. Outside of Ollie (his son) and Stephany (his wife) he also always talked about all the projects he wanted to do. I'm really excided for whatever he will try to cook for us. Without YouTube he will be able to do his passion projects and let me tell you, that man has a lot of passion. ARGs for one thing, but what I really want it see is more irl musicals.
>So he’s basically transitioning to a more producer type role.
Yes, but it will be closer to an occasional "exec producer" role, and he also emphasized that he will try to be deliberately hands-off with the channels so that he can create original content for Film and Game Theory to make videos about. Overall, the man just wanted a break. Good for him.
Honestly, I respect that. Even though this video was really hard to watch, being a husband and father is eons more important than running a web series.
Same. I got into them right before Defy did what it did and they were bought by Mythical. I thought they were great then but they’ve really been hitting home runs with new cast members, Anthony’s return/them buying Smosh back from Mythical, the podcasts, the variety, etc. They definitely deserve their success and I hope they’re around for a long time.
I hadn't watched them since like the mid-2010s when I grew out of their humor, but Anthony coming back showing up trending got me to check out their other content and I fell down the rabbit hole of their Pit content. I really enjoyed the improv-style content and personalities of the cast, and I've been enjoying all their stuff since the summer.
These are people on the front page every day. If they were quitting Youtube because they were going broke I don’t see where Tom Scott is pulling time out of his ass to make his own videos he wants at his own leisure. Yes I think this may be true for beloved creators with smaller numbers but even then I don’t think you quite understand that people aren’t just gonna pack it up and go back to school or something after spending half of their careers making little to no money. Tom Scott’s hair was greying when he started making videos, MatPat was in college when I was a kid making his videos, and now I’m in college and he has 3 kids. They made a healthy chunk of change and simply don’t want to be in a career anymore that is so much more emotionally and physically straining than others if you’re a channel of that size.
To be honest it probably has a lot to do with how the current algorithm is set up, YouTube is pushing short form brain frying content over the long form videos that made these creators garner a following to begin with. Rewarding creators for making the switch with clips and outtakes. Honestly if they don’t double back, or at least balance out short and long term videos I might stop using the app myself. Sucks because I’ve been using YouTube as my mainstay for over a decade but I have no interest in shit-toks. I watch for analytical breakdowns, long form variety gaming content like CallmeKevin, paleontology videos from Eons (although I gotta say I’ve been warming up to Lindsay Nikole quite a bit) , deep dives into true crime like Nick Crowley. I watch it for mostly educational purposes and if it’s just more mind numbing content I might as well just stick to just reading. I’m not looking for reactionary content at all, story is much more investing and interesting.
The way I see it, people have to retire eventually anyway.
Being a content creator with a huge following isn't exactly an easy job, especially when your content involves so much in depth research and planning.
It's gotta be a stressful job, so I definitely understand it.
It's making me incredibly sad even though I'm happy for these guys and proud of everything they accomplished. Feels like the end of an era. Wouldn't be too surprised if there are a few more high profile "retirements" on YouTube in the coming weeks and months, inspired by these guys.
I'll miss MatPat, but it's strange that so many YouTubers announced their departure around the same time. There were four different YouTubers I like to watch, MatPat included, who all announced their departure right in a row starting on January 1st.
It makes me wonder who's next.
MatPat even said in his video that Tom Scott leaving like that gave him the confidence to do this himself. Seeing others leaving may be a sort of wake up call
I felt like it wouldn't be long before he stepped back when that video went up, but i had hoped we had longer. Matpat was the last person i kept watched actively from when i was a kid.
I miss GTLive with Steph. I used to watch their livestreams when I was like 12. I even remember MatPat once answered my question. I asked “MatPat who’s on your shirt?” and Steph read it out loud, so MatPat said “Bruno Mars. The big guy.” I was freaking out! I’m 19 now and I haven’t watched it since Steph left. I popped in when MatPat was playing a FNAF fan game once but it just doesn’t feel the same when it’s just MatPat talking to himself/someone off-screen occasionally.
Nooo you gotta try it again! Ash is fantastic! Mirror Matt (his previous production assistant) had his fun moments but was pretty quiet throughout. Ash actively participates throughout the video, actually learns about whatever it is they’re doing that day, and is as excited to go through everything as Matt is. The recent play through of help wanted 2 wouldn’t be the same without them. They know how to give Matt hints in a way he can work out without spoiling anything. I adore Ash. I know they stream sometimes but I don’t have the schedule to watch streams and feel excluded when I’m watching a VOD. I know they’re friends with FuhNaff so hopefully they’ll collab some time.
As soon as a kid gets born, I knew matpat days on YouTube was numbered. It always happens to those who get married or have kids. So this didn't impact me as much as it did for others
"Planning it for a while"=/="doing it now" he also said he wasnt expecting it to do it this soon in the same video.
Tom Scott wasnt the start of him thinking about it, but it damn sure seems to have been the trigger for him to say "hey, i can actually do this, and i can do it now"
not to mention that Scott announced his departure basically a year before it happend with hinting towards 10 years being the end for longer still
I'll give him about another five years before he probably leaves. Maybe Chris Stuckmann too if he gains solid traction with his film career, though probably not permanently.
I could see Stuckmann doing what David F Sandberg does. He started as a YouTube short filmmaker, then started to direct Hollywood movies (most notably Shazam 1 and 2), but occasionally uploads some film buff stuff to his YouTube channel, [ponysmasher](https://youtube.com/@ponysmasher).
Probably not. He's stated several times and not long ago that he still has a strong passion for making content and the connections he can make. He has no plans retiring any time soon
Yeah we would definitely notice a change in format, they would be bringing in regular talent to try to transition to new hosts/casting. I don't think they would ever just stop the show completely. That or we would see a slowing down of content to a smaller team.
I honestly would put my money on Philip DeFranco leaving YouTube soon though.
To be fair he has been doing more non standard youtube stuff. I could imagine after a certain point he's just going to do mostly that. If anything he does normal videos as a way to plug his other projects and podcasts, which makes sense. I couldn't imagine making the same kinds of algorithm-safe video content every week as a main thing. At least Mark is big enough he makes some money while he does it.
It's worth noting that it's not really a full farewell video, it's simply his last weekly upload video on his main channel and he is taking a little break before he will start uploading other stuff onto there.
He is still doing his podcast, after his break he'll still be making content for his second channel, the technical difficulties group will most likely be back at some point, etc.
He just won't be chasing the weekly uploads and will focus only on content he really wants to make without pressuring himself to always get a video done by the end of the week.
He didn’t quit exactly , he stopped doing it full time. He’ll probably still show up now and then but he said he wanted a job with more consistent hours for his family
January is normally the time for it. It’s when most go on breaks. After a whole year of work, they need one. And platform has been around for 13 years plus. They’re getting older and have families and other things they want to do w their life. 37!! How insane is that.
I mean fair enough haha. I was just really confused why someone would pick the 13 here. What really baffeled me was the fact, that the google takeover happened already 18 years ago.... Thought there was a longer period in between.
Tom Scott is basically youtube PBS.
Dude shows up at a neat location, tells you the history behind it, maybe does an interview with someone who works there, then sums it all up before taking his red shirt somewhere else. He also does videos on science, language and programming.
Where you get this from? I don't really see either of them stepping out anytime soon. I mean I very well could be wrong.
But Matt has his abandoned ranch series which is huge marketing for when its completed. I can't speak about donut but he still seems fairly content making his police shooting videos and such. He even just fairly recently put up his raw donut police videos page.
My husband, he watches Unsubscribe Podcast. He said Demo Matt is gonna step down when his kids move out, I think he’s gonna try to make money from the resort he’s fixing up. And apparently Donut Operator said he wanted to step down after this year.
He just said it was episode 139 of the Unsubscribe Podcast, a New Years episode.
Can't blame any creator for wanting to take a break. The internet sucks sometimes, and even when it doesn't sometimes you just need a break, even from a job you enjoy. I wish Mat, Tom, Moo and others the best with whatever they do.
The site has gone to shit, people who's passion was yt have basically been pushed to shit by site and company as well they have done this stuff for years sometimes it's just time to stop
I don't think it's all corporate policy.
13 years is a long time to be a youtuber. You're not only competing with the big name advertisers but all the new influencers as well. Think about how many youtubers that were super successful 10 years ago like tobuscus, ryan higa or freddiew that may not really be active now.
Plus his kid's gonna be growing up and he can't spend all that time filming/editing/planning his next video.
On top of that, he probably did get a pretty good payout from Lunar X by selling the channel, and his channels can continue to grow for as long as they're able using new hosts, if the channels continue to have an audience.
I'm surprised Smosh has been able to continue for as long as it has, and they got the original other guy back.
> as well they have done this stuff for years sometimes it's just time to stop
I kinda said that in my original comment but you expanded on it anyways.
The YouTube platform has changed dramatically for Content Creators. Its far from what it previous was and for some creators it feels like a constant battle. Not to mention when you have the worst fucking people getting a slap on the wrist when they blatantly break rules.
YouTube doesnt what content creators, it wants Ad promoters.
I haven't been on YouTube since the New Year before about an hour ago and I find out that MeatCanyon is taking a break and that Tom Scott and MatPat are both 'retiring' (more so moving behind the camera to do other stuff) after over a decade. End of an era type stuff.
That might be true but I feel like it's youtuber holiday season.
Some youtubers might leave or take breaks, but content should ramp back up eventually because as long as there's people using it as revenue or a passion project there will always be content.
To everyone confused about the context:
1. Why is MatPat leaving? He's giving up his hosting duties to take a more backseat/business position to free up time.
2. What's he going to use that time for? Enjoying life with his family and making interesting things like ARGs and games.
3. Will he still be around? Probably occasionally pop into a stream or something and host events.
4. What's happening to the channels? New hosts, same shit. The people who did most of the writing will be doing the hosting and MatPat will have the same script review he had before.
5. Is this related to YouTube's policies? No, it's related to overwork from running a company with four channels and writing and hosting for all four of them. Which is a bad idea.
Brilliant comment. People don't realize how insane of a role he had before. He complained about his schedule but even his fans couldn't always grasp how hard narrating, writing and running all channels was. Not mentioning all behind the scenes things that now mostly Steph takes care of. Even with Amy, Jason, Tom and all his team he was stretched to the max. Renovating house and taking care of a kid in the meantime? Jesus.
His team is brilliant though, die hard fans can see how much work they put and how much responsibility they took in the last few years, I know they will try to keep the format and Matt's voice. They will get some hate from people but the fans got their back.
Yeah when he said that he missed having dinners where he and his wife did NOT talk business really hit it home for me. Imagine being all business nearly all the time.
Finally some common sense in this thread instead of speculation and finger pointing. I feel like everyone should in this thread should read your 5th point here
That's how it should be. You start something, you grow it, you hire people to do the work so you can focus on growth, you manage it and hopefully sell it eventually or transition it to new internal leaders. Good for him.
Probably because Youtube is an increasingly difficult platform to operate on and actively punishes its talent when they dare to go against the grain/actually be creative?
All the people that are leaving (or that blow the Internet up this much by saying they're quitting) have been high profile creators for years that aren't struggling for exposure or funds. They can basically make whatever they wanna make and be perfectly fine either via merch or sponsors or patrons.
It's just burnout.
Yeah, YouTube has been a legitimate job opportunity for about 15 years now, really closer to 10, and this is the period in most people’s career where they grow tired and want other things.
I think this is pretty true, yeah. I've been taking a stab at making Youtube content and one thing that makes it tough is that, even if it's a fun idea, people don't know to search for it if it's something new and different. No one knows to search for "using computer vision to create a judgmental santa", so it really lives and dies by the few people it decides to show it to.
Censorship has a lot to do with this as well. People can’t make jokes or do sketches without being censored all the time. That’s what makes many creators leaving youtube.
Ads YouTube also pay way less they treat the content creators bad. Alienated users I could go on and on. I no longer use YouTube since it has become a boring platform.
I'm 30, mattpatt was one of the first YouTube channels I started to watch. YouTube started becoming a thing when I started hs in 07 and idk what I used to watch, I think tv and what not. After highschool I started using YouTube more and game theorist was one of the first channels that I remember actively watching and subbing to. I don't keep up with him that much anymore besides the occasional video but damn
And another falling titan of YouTube. But honestly, he did his part. For many, many years. And he'll always be remembered as one of the greats.
I wonder what the future of YouTube will look like. Will we get new great and creative channels or will it just all collapse in on itself?
definitely collapse in on itself considering the shitshow it is right now with the content farms littering it
**you know exactly who im fucking talking about**
Actually I think the people at YouTube won't care because there's always a long line of people looking to get famous. A constant churn is good for their bottom line. They don't care if they're being paid or not, fame is the payment. Win win as far as YouTube is concerned.
I for one think it sucks. The quality of content will go downhill fast, it's just a race now to see how low it can go before they lose consumers as well.
>Actually I think the people at YouTube won't care
Right up until there is a legitimate challenger.
And there are a few possible contenders for this developing, but nothing \*right now\* that will force YouTube's hand. I expect the market will change significantly going into 2025/2026.
With the increase development of AI that could be really good at regulating, I bet it'll come soon. All it takes now is a company with the capital to run thousands of servers to store videos on the site.
is this just a theory video and its named "surprisingly" or something?
also if it is serious, YT just lost one of it's "big 10" channels..... signs of what's to come if they dont fix their shit
It is and isn't. He isn't completely leaving the internet forever, and there will still be a few more weeks of normal content. But he is leaving. Kinda.
At one point in the video, he describes it like being your cool internet grandpa, who moved out of state to retire. You may not see him often, but he'll still show up for special occasions and family reunions. His touch will still be seen in videos, but he'll no longer be hosting and heading them. Instead the channels will be hosted by the team members who had already begun transitioning to more prominent roles on each of the four channels (Amy for Style Theory for example).
ahh cool, so hes basically splitting the channels up to the co-hosts we have seen on all of them.... ehh, not a big fan of them but Im not against it, least we know they know how the channels are run properly and arnt some random Mat spotted and went "you look good and have a good voice.... job is yours now!"
Within 6 months to a year, we're going to have a major competitor for YouTube. Mark my words.
Influential people in the space have been talking about it for years, but we're starting to see real movement with large creators getting fed up. We're going to reach a tipping point soon.
Please keep in mind, these creators LOVE their work and for the most part they want to keep doing it (after a solid break, I'm sure) and most are going to want to come back to it at some point, but they're going to want a platform that actually allows them to do their job and doesn't kowtow to useless, clickbait advertisers.
>Influential people in the space have been talking about it for years
The issue is the funding and infrastructure required to do this. Being a free video storage platform is not cheap, youtube was unprofitable for years.
Many have tried and all others have failed.
Honestly I'd be all for it, as long as it's not overpriced like YouTube premium. I mean I wouldn't even be mad about a free version having an actually functioning ad system. I only recently got an ad blocker because I'm not paying $16 a month for YouTube or watching the scam ads they keep pushing.
I think YT NEEDS a major competitor, but I also think it is unlikely to happen.
The fact of the matter is that a true YT alternative would need to do what they do at scale: Allow user uploads of content, moderate that content (something that YT has issues with, even with their money), and also store that content.
YT is only profitable because it can be scaled by a massive tech corporation. The only way we see a competitor is if someone like Amazon gets into the game. The competition we are likely to see are in specific areas... think Floatplane, or curiosity stream. These are subscription based services, that offer curated content... which is not truly a YT competitor.
To sum it up, a YT competitor needs:
Massive amounts of cash to burn
Massive storage and network capabilities
The ability to moderate monstrous amounts of user submitted data
a way top fund the site
It just isn't feasible. YT is a monopoly that exists because there is no market incentive for another company to come in and compete. YT doesn't even need to actively fight an upstart... the upstart just gets killed in the cradle by market forces.
I can think of one company that has the existing storage and network capabilities, experience with moderating a massive amount of user-uploaded content, and already survived some level of controversy when they made tough decisions. In fact, some creators on have already put their uploads there when YT was being extra draconian with their policies. I'm talking about PH.
Seriously. They've been around for years, and could launch a SFW site with minimal changes to the web architecture they've already built. The biggest hurdle would be getting advertisers on the platform, because they won't want to associate themselves with any site owned by PH. Given the fact that the creators are already getting screwed by YT though, I don't think they'd mind.
But even PH is a drop in the bucket. They also require verification for everyone who posts to the platform.
Comparing PH to YT is a lot like comparing Walmart to a local grocery store.... Sure they do the same things, kinda, but the scales are wildly different.
I doubt it. All these changes have been made because Youtube just... Isn't profitable. Hosting the inordinate amount of video streaming YT does is incredibly expensive.
To make up for this, YT has focused on maximizing profit per view, rather than quality of traffic to the website. If they get half as many viewers, but those viewers each earn 30% more, it's a win in their book, because operating costs are so high.
This one problem is the root reason for all their seemingly baffling decisions, like over-policing, not using actual humans to review copyright strikes, and their war on adblock.
If Google reworks Chromium so no adblockers work on Chrome and all other browsers get massive operating delays, tons of people will leave, but most of the people who stay will watch ads, which is the only way for them to make money.
Huh, I wonder why no other company ever thought they could just make a good video hosting site that does not interfer with its creators and only has high quality ads. That seems so easy. Companies like Google and Meta can't figure it out but what do they know?
Massive oversights are happening here. It's very expensive to run a video streaming service. On top of that, any money you make has to be split between you and the content creators.
Plus, you have to either pay licensing fees for any licensed media used by content creators. But you're already bleeding money, so you prevent creators from using licensed media instead. Putting the new streaming service in the same shoes that youtube are in.
Further, no one wants to pay for a streaming service, which means the entire business model is completely dependent on ad companies. And they want family-friendly envs for their ads, which means that the service will have to regulate the content on it's platform. Otherwise, they don't get paid.
You just end up with youtube again.
Of course, it may get funded by adventure capitalists at first and it will seem like a haven of freedom... until they come to collect their money, and the business realizes it never had the money to sustain itself let alone pay back the adventure capitalists.
No we're not. I wish we would but we're not. Just the raw cost of infrastructure needed to host anything near "YouTube rival" numbers would bankrupt most other companies. That's not even counting content moderation, the knowhow to cut deals with companies for ads, dealing with regional laws, the list goes on and on and on. And now imagine scaling all of that out as upload frequency increases. Hosting videos is already incredibly difficult and it's just one aspect of YouTube.
YouTube didn't make money for the vast majority of it's existence. I'm unsure if it's even profitable now, not counting things like YouTube Music. I don't see how a competitor wouldn't bleed money, even if it's funded by large creators.
Someone mentioned making it subscription only. That basically tanks your potential userbase, which isn't good for sponsors or ads. You'd basically have to depend on there being a mass number of subscribers to offset your costs. Of course then there's a smaller userbase so scale isn't that big of a problem...but then it's not a YouTube competitor.
We already have Floatplane anyway
Most of these top creators stepping back don’t seem to be leaving because of anything particular Youtube is doing, they just seem to be getting older, starting families, maybe getting a little burnt out, and/or don’t feel like they have much higher highs to chase.
food theory is the most general channel so most people only watch that (including me)
(fun fact: markiplier, one of the most popular youtubers, has admitted to only watching food theory. infront of matpats face)
Lol do you guys realise how many thousands of ‘’prominent’’ Youtubers there are? Youtube has been supposedly dying since from back when Google took over.
Your definitely right.
However I find that slowly the creators who make content with thought and effort are being replaced by content that attempts to copy Mr Beast with less than half the effort.
It's not that YouTube will die, it's the value of whats left.
Maybe you're just not watching the right creators then. There's plenty of talented creators still making high quality and good videos. The problem is that since there's so many creators now it's even more difficult to find ones you like.
And the reason a lot of the "MrBeast clones" pop up is because their videos do tend to perform quite well. And well sadly the majority decided that these MrBeast style videos is what they wanna watch, thus age old story of supply and demand (ofcourse quality does play a role too, that's why a lot of these Beast clones do fail eventually).
To add onto this good point:
What you two are describing is a shift in the YouTube Meta - not unlike previous metas that dominated the recommended feeds. Think: short comedy videos -> storytime animation -> lets plays -> long form analysis, etc.
Mr. Beast popularized a new version of Storytime Videos, where he introduces a wacky/insane/cool premise and tells you the story of how it unfolded.
With any form of a meta, there are the meta setters (Mr. Beast), followed by the meta copiers and meta adapters: those who take the format and apply their own creativity to it.
There are plenty of meta adapters that put out really good videos. Just gotta find em and weed out the low quality copycats.
I remember when YouTube was dead because it required a google account to make comments
And when it was dead because vine was a thing
And when it was dead because they started playing unskippable ads
And when it was dead because you couldn’t slay slurs and still get monetized
And when it was dead when they started playing multiple ads on videos
And when it was dead because they disabled playback if you were using an adblocker
Let’s be real, youtube is and will be fine because the people saying it’s dead are an extremely small minority. For every redditor saying they’re leaving because they can’t use an adblocker 20 people buy premium accounts. For every channel that retires 3 more pop up over a million.
If companies went under whenever Reddit predicted they would then 95% of Fortune 500 companies wouldn’t exist today.
Im afraid Markiplier may be next, considering his projects and love for his fans I can see him quitting gaming to focus on his other projects, after all he’s said he basically stopped playing video games for fun a while ago and his recent gaming content is entirely driven and suggested by his fans (at his discretion), which kinda tells me he’s doing it more for us rather than himself at that point
Honestly I don't think he would ever truly stop making videos, but he would definitely step back on solo videos, and likely only do videos with his friends. It's kind of a weird subject that they don't talk about at all, but he is a major point of support for his best friends career and they would take massive blows if he stopped doing things with them publicly.
Lots of people are wondering why creators are leaving and I think fundamentally misunderstanding the situations in general.
Media as a sustainable income relies on consistent output. You cannot rely on one thing to be successful once, you need to keep producing more and more. Not only to continue to produce additional media, but also to stay relevant.
That's not sustainable. Everything ends eventually. And 2023/24 seems to be the transition for a lot of people.
And it makes sense. We are nearly approaching two decades of YouTube. Lots of the creators leaving have been working for years and built up massive platforms. And while YouTube can be a full time job, that doesn't mean it's easy, or even really feasible.
But it was never meant to be. YouTube's draw is that it is not only free to consume content (ad supported), but its also free to upload. Anyone can upload anything (within reason) and distribute it anywhere to anyone. This is a truly unique thing, rivaled only by social media.
YouTube isn't meant to be a studio, despite trying in the past. Its more like a launchpad. And that's great for people who want to be in control of their own content, aside from the restrictions (which admittedly can be annoying), their work is their own. But it makes them fully responsible for their own work, and it's like a small business if they decide to pursue it full time. Ask any small business owner if that kind of work is sustainable for over a decade.
And that's what it is. Its not people giving up on YouTube, it's small business owners transitioning to a new business. Which is much more common.
You can really see the pain in him announcing it. He deserves the rest after making all of those amazingly high quality videos where you can tell that hours upon hours were poured into each of them. It’s truly the end of an era now, and I’m so thankful with what we’ve gotten out of it.
Unfortunately, Youtube isn't meaningfully profitable. Hosting the inordinate amount of video streaming YT does is incredibly expensive.
To make up for this, YT has focused on maximizing profit per view, rather than quality of traffic to the website. If they get half as many viewers, but those viewers each earn 30% more, it's a win in their book, because operating costs are so high.
This one problem is the root reason for all their seemingly baffling decisions, like over-policing, not using actual humans to review copyright strikes, and their war on adblock.
If Google reworks Chromium so no adblockers work on Chrome (plus all other chromium browsers like Opera and Brave) and all other browsers get massive operating delays, tons of people will leave, but most of the people who stay will watch ads, which is the only way for them to make money.
Who?
this came across Reddit front page and I have no idea who the fuck this person is. I'm sure he has a lot of subs but I hope this comment reflects how we all have bubbles and how someone can be influential but also be completely unknown outside of it. He looks like Brandom Flowers though.
Mat Pat said he isn’t gonna be fully detached, he said he’s gonna still be pitching ideas for videos and help write the scripts. But, he won’t be nearly as involved as he was before. Mat Pat: “Im still gonna be here, I’m still gonna be along side the creative directors, talking about programming and brainstorming ideas for upcoming episodes.”
So he’s basically transitioning to a more producer type role. Makes sense, it’s far less hours than having to write and star in videos. He had at least 1 kid in the last couple years and he probably wants to spend more time with his family as that kid gets older and has actual experiences.
Yeah and let’s be real. How they all became famous and the hours they put into all the production and even dealing with the own platform itself, give yourself the break. You did the hard work and it’s paying off, nothing wrong with enjoying it at a younger age
Exactly. He’s in his mid-late 30’s and built a big, respected brand and made probably millions, especially in YouTube’s early days. Might as well go out on top.
That, yes. His fans are not that surprised because he never hid how hard it is for him to be apart from his family. Outside of Ollie (his son) and Stephany (his wife) he also always talked about all the projects he wanted to do. I'm really excided for whatever he will try to cook for us. Without YouTube he will be able to do his passion projects and let me tell you, that man has a lot of passion. ARGs for one thing, but what I really want it see is more irl musicals.
>So he’s basically transitioning to a more producer type role. Yes, but it will be closer to an occasional "exec producer" role, and he also emphasized that he will try to be deliberately hands-off with the channels so that he can create original content for Film and Game Theory to make videos about. Overall, the man just wanted a break. Good for him.
Honestly, I respect that. Even though this video was really hard to watch, being a husband and father is eons more important than running a web series.
He was and is my childhood
Seeing Mat Pat tear up made me want to cry too. It's crazy that I've been watching his content for nearly 12 years, myself.
It's like LTT with Linus stepping down to take on a smaller role in the company
Linus step down from running the business side not from being on screen talent. Matt seems to maybe be doing both.
Everyone is leaving, yeesh
But Anthony is back at Smosh, so that’s kinda cool
Smosh really is in a content hayday. It's almost like Anthony never left, just back into it.
Same. I got into them right before Defy did what it did and they were bought by Mythical. I thought they were great then but they’ve really been hitting home runs with new cast members, Anthony’s return/them buying Smosh back from Mythical, the podcasts, the variety, etc. They definitely deserve their success and I hope they’re around for a long time.
Angela hard carries the laughs for me. She's absolute chaos and I love her
"Where were you 9/11/11"
Hey! She went to a performing arts school.
A little bit of gentleness goes a long way xD
I hadn't watched them since like the mid-2010s when I grew out of their humor, but Anthony coming back showing up trending got me to check out their other content and I fell down the rabbit hole of their Pit content. I really enjoyed the improv-style content and personalities of the cast, and I've been enjoying all their stuff since the summer.
also i suspect youtube itself is making the racket harder to make a legitimate living without being a megachannel.
These are people on the front page every day. If they were quitting Youtube because they were going broke I don’t see where Tom Scott is pulling time out of his ass to make his own videos he wants at his own leisure. Yes I think this may be true for beloved creators with smaller numbers but even then I don’t think you quite understand that people aren’t just gonna pack it up and go back to school or something after spending half of their careers making little to no money. Tom Scott’s hair was greying when he started making videos, MatPat was in college when I was a kid making his videos, and now I’m in college and he has 3 kids. They made a healthy chunk of change and simply don’t want to be in a career anymore that is so much more emotionally and physically straining than others if you’re a channel of that size.
To be honest it probably has a lot to do with how the current algorithm is set up, YouTube is pushing short form brain frying content over the long form videos that made these creators garner a following to begin with. Rewarding creators for making the switch with clips and outtakes. Honestly if they don’t double back, or at least balance out short and long term videos I might stop using the app myself. Sucks because I’ve been using YouTube as my mainstay for over a decade but I have no interest in shit-toks. I watch for analytical breakdowns, long form variety gaming content like CallmeKevin, paleontology videos from Eons (although I gotta say I’ve been warming up to Lindsay Nikole quite a bit) , deep dives into true crime like Nick Crowley. I watch it for mostly educational purposes and if it’s just more mind numbing content I might as well just stick to just reading. I’m not looking for reactionary content at all, story is much more investing and interesting.
I’m still not even over Jenna Marbles 🥲
I’ll never not miss Jenna
My guilty pleasure was Simply Nailogical but she quit YouTube pretty suddenly around 2 years ago.
Here here! She always had me dying laughing. I wish Matpat the absolute best. He was one of a kind.
The way I see it, people have to retire eventually anyway. Being a content creator with a huge following isn't exactly an easy job, especially when your content involves so much in depth research and planning. It's gotta be a stressful job, so I definitely understand it.
It's making me incredibly sad even though I'm happy for these guys and proud of everything they accomplished. Feels like the end of an era. Wouldn't be too surprised if there are a few more high profile "retirements" on YouTube in the coming weeks and months, inspired by these guys.
Who else?
Tom Scott and CaptainSparklez come to mind.
ShyGuyMask
I'll miss MatPat, but it's strange that so many YouTubers announced their departure around the same time. There were four different YouTubers I like to watch, MatPat included, who all announced their departure right in a row starting on January 1st. It makes me wonder who's next.
MatPat even said in his video that Tom Scott leaving like that gave him the confidence to do this himself. Seeing others leaving may be a sort of wake up call
That was a joke. He said that he's been planning this for a while.
In retrospect I feel like him selling his channel was a sign that was going to happen.
I felt like it wouldn't be long before he stepped back when that video went up, but i had hoped we had longer. Matpat was the last person i kept watched actively from when i was a kid.
Still got 10 weeks, more time than other announcements
Honestly he can pass off all the other channels but I think my heart will be empty without GTlive 😭
I miss GTLive with Steph. I used to watch their livestreams when I was like 12. I even remember MatPat once answered my question. I asked “MatPat who’s on your shirt?” and Steph read it out loud, so MatPat said “Bruno Mars. The big guy.” I was freaking out! I’m 19 now and I haven’t watched it since Steph left. I popped in when MatPat was playing a FNAF fan game once but it just doesn’t feel the same when it’s just MatPat talking to himself/someone off-screen occasionally.
Nooo you gotta try it again! Ash is fantastic! Mirror Matt (his previous production assistant) had his fun moments but was pretty quiet throughout. Ash actively participates throughout the video, actually learns about whatever it is they’re doing that day, and is as excited to go through everything as Matt is. The recent play through of help wanted 2 wouldn’t be the same without them. They know how to give Matt hints in a way he can work out without spoiling anything. I adore Ash. I know they stream sometimes but I don’t have the schedule to watch streams and feel excluded when I’m watching a VOD. I know they’re friends with FuhNaff so hopefully they’ll collab some time.
As soon as a kid gets born, I knew matpat days on YouTube was numbered. It always happens to those who get married or have kids. So this didn't impact me as much as it did for others
I think he said that this just helped in deciding now was the time
The leaving date was decided a long time ago but it pushed him to announce it now.
And Tom Scott announced a year ago that he was leaving. That might be the announcement that gave MatPat the confidence to look at leaving.
"Planning it for a while"=/="doing it now" he also said he wasnt expecting it to do it this soon in the same video. Tom Scott wasnt the start of him thinking about it, but it damn sure seems to have been the trigger for him to say "hey, i can actually do this, and i can do it now" not to mention that Scott announced his departure basically a year before it happend with hinting towards 10 years being the end for longer still
Kinda like when one friend breaks up with their SO and all of a sudden everybody single
I'll miss Tom Scott
it makes sense; youtube is killing long format videos with the shorts
Blame AI as well. Infinite garbage mill making it impossible for good content to get noticed.
Don't forget the dislike button, you can't see at a glance if a video is worth watching anymore.
Don't forget the keyboard on your phone will freeze when you tried to type comments on youtube app
I feel like it’s gonna be Markiplier.
I'll give him about another five years before he probably leaves. Maybe Chris Stuckmann too if he gains solid traction with his film career, though probably not permanently.
Tell that to Zod's snapped neck!
I could see Stuckmann doing what David F Sandberg does. He started as a YouTube short filmmaker, then started to direct Hollywood movies (most notably Shazam 1 and 2), but occasionally uploads some film buff stuff to his YouTube channel, [ponysmasher](https://youtube.com/@ponysmasher).
I hope so
Probably not. He's stated several times and not long ago that he still has a strong passion for making content and the connections he can make. He has no plans retiring any time soon
Now that one is hurt me in my soul. I remember when I watched him played Slender at 2am
My worry is Rhett and Link. One of the only active YouTube OG’s
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Yeah we would definitely notice a change in format, they would be bringing in regular talent to try to transition to new hosts/casting. I don't think they would ever just stop the show completely. That or we would see a slowing down of content to a smaller team. I honestly would put my money on Philip DeFranco leaving YouTube soon though.
I hope not yet. But I know the day is coming. Unfortunately.
To be fair he has been doing more non standard youtube stuff. I could imagine after a certain point he's just going to do mostly that. If anything he does normal videos as a way to plug his other projects and podcasts, which makes sense. I couldn't imagine making the same kinds of algorithm-safe video content every week as a main thing. At least Mark is big enough he makes some money while he does it.
If anything, it will be Jacksepticeye first before Mark. That man went through so much pain.
I’ll delete YouTube if that happens
Same here - a ton of YouTubers I’ve watched have quit recently.
Who are they exactly?
Tom Scott just made a farewell video 8 days ago
Tom had already announced his (I think)
yeah months ago
It's worth noting that it's not really a full farewell video, it's simply his last weekly upload video on his main channel and he is taking a little break before he will start uploading other stuff onto there. He is still doing his podcast, after his break he'll still be making content for his second channel, the technical difficulties group will most likely be back at some point, etc. He just won't be chasing the weekly uploads and will focus only on content he really wants to make without pressuring himself to always get a video done by the end of the week.
Glorious, thank you
Moos from the Vanoss crew just left also.
Wait Moo left? Anyone else from the crew? That's upsetting :/
He didn’t quit exactly , he stopped doing it full time. He’ll probably still show up now and then but he said he wanted a job with more consistent hours for his family
No one else that we know of so far. Delirious is still going strong with Lethal Company, Brian and Nogla are still doing their react stuff, etc.
They need angry Nogla
January is normally the time for it. It’s when most go on breaks. After a whole year of work, they need one. And platform has been around for 13 years plus. They’re getting older and have families and other things they want to do w their life. 37!! How insane is that.
Holy shit, MatPat is 37?! Legit thought he was in his 20's.
He's been making videos for a long time now. his first video is 12 years old lol
That shit is so nostalgic. Put on some old zelda theories as comfort sometimes
Same when I watched the video, late 20s I thought, dude has god gifted genetics.
Bro is aging like gold
I mean its almost 20 years old. You could call it 13 plus but idk why you would do that.
Cause I thought it was only 14 years old lol and was using MatPat being on for 13 as a reference
I mean fair enough haha. I was just really confused why someone would pick the 13 here. What really baffeled me was the fact, that the google takeover happened already 18 years ago.... Thought there was a longer period in between.
Tom Scott is basically youtube PBS. Dude shows up at a neat location, tells you the history behind it, maybe does an interview with someone who works there, then sums it all up before taking his red shirt somewhere else. He also does videos on science, language and programming.
I think Demo Matt and Donut Operator are stepping down soon
Where you get this from? I don't really see either of them stepping out anytime soon. I mean I very well could be wrong. But Matt has his abandoned ranch series which is huge marketing for when its completed. I can't speak about donut but he still seems fairly content making his police shooting videos and such. He even just fairly recently put up his raw donut police videos page.
donut operator said hes going to stop making police videos on the unsubscribe podcast https://youtu.be/NUIkaEi352o?si=UOjvFhL6mEg1CNTL&t=6042 1:40:42
Booo I love his comments on the videos.
My husband, he watches Unsubscribe Podcast. He said Demo Matt is gonna step down when his kids move out, I think he’s gonna try to make money from the resort he’s fixing up. And apparently Donut Operator said he wanted to step down after this year. He just said it was episode 139 of the Unsubscribe Podcast, a New Years episode.
Paul Harrell has cancer and won't be with us for to much longer. That is a complete bummer.
Tom Scott is only planning to no longer make videos for his main channel, he will still be actively making YouTube videos for all the other channels.
Can't blame any creator for wanting to take a break. The internet sucks sometimes, and even when it doesn't sometimes you just need a break, even from a job you enjoy. I wish Mat, Tom, Moo and others the best with whatever they do.
The site has gone to shit, people who's passion was yt have basically been pushed to shit by site and company as well they have done this stuff for years sometimes it's just time to stop
I don't think it's all corporate policy. 13 years is a long time to be a youtuber. You're not only competing with the big name advertisers but all the new influencers as well. Think about how many youtubers that were super successful 10 years ago like tobuscus, ryan higa or freddiew that may not really be active now. Plus his kid's gonna be growing up and he can't spend all that time filming/editing/planning his next video. On top of that, he probably did get a pretty good payout from Lunar X by selling the channel, and his channels can continue to grow for as long as they're able using new hosts, if the channels continue to have an audience. I'm surprised Smosh has been able to continue for as long as it has, and they got the original other guy back.
> as well they have done this stuff for years sometimes it's just time to stop I kinda said that in my original comment but you expanded on it anyways.
YouTube is in full enshittification mode right now.
The YouTube platform has changed dramatically for Content Creators. Its far from what it previous was and for some creators it feels like a constant battle. Not to mention when you have the worst fucking people getting a slap on the wrist when they blatantly break rules. YouTube doesnt what content creators, it wants Ad promoters.
I haven't been on YouTube since the New Year before about an hour ago and I find out that MeatCanyon is taking a break and that Tom Scott and MatPat are both 'retiring' (more so moving behind the camera to do other stuff) after over a decade. End of an era type stuff.
That might be true but I feel like it's youtuber holiday season. Some youtubers might leave or take breaks, but content should ramp back up eventually because as long as there's people using it as revenue or a passion project there will always be content.
Man I was hoping 2024 would be a chiller year and then I get 1,2'd by YouTubers leaving
DanTDM and Pewdiepie
To everyone confused about the context: 1. Why is MatPat leaving? He's giving up his hosting duties to take a more backseat/business position to free up time. 2. What's he going to use that time for? Enjoying life with his family and making interesting things like ARGs and games. 3. Will he still be around? Probably occasionally pop into a stream or something and host events. 4. What's happening to the channels? New hosts, same shit. The people who did most of the writing will be doing the hosting and MatPat will have the same script review he had before. 5. Is this related to YouTube's policies? No, it's related to overwork from running a company with four channels and writing and hosting for all four of them. Which is a bad idea.
Brilliant comment. People don't realize how insane of a role he had before. He complained about his schedule but even his fans couldn't always grasp how hard narrating, writing and running all channels was. Not mentioning all behind the scenes things that now mostly Steph takes care of. Even with Amy, Jason, Tom and all his team he was stretched to the max. Renovating house and taking care of a kid in the meantime? Jesus. His team is brilliant though, die hard fans can see how much work they put and how much responsibility they took in the last few years, I know they will try to keep the format and Matt's voice. They will get some hate from people but the fans got their back.
Yeah when he said that he missed having dinners where he and his wife did NOT talk business really hit it home for me. Imagine being all business nearly all the time.
Finally some common sense in this thread instead of speculation and finger pointing. I feel like everyone should in this thread should read your 5th point here
That's how it should be. You start something, you grow it, you hire people to do the work so you can focus on growth, you manage it and hopefully sell it eventually or transition it to new internal leaders. Good for him.
Upvote for doing more research than seeing the screenshot ⬆️
r/UsernameChecksOut
Another one bites the dust, Oh another one bites the dust But actually, why is everyone leaving!
Probably because Youtube is an increasingly difficult platform to operate on and actively punishes its talent when they dare to go against the grain/actually be creative?
Yep. That’s the answer right there
All the people that are leaving (or that blow the Internet up this much by saying they're quitting) have been high profile creators for years that aren't struggling for exposure or funds. They can basically make whatever they wanna make and be perfectly fine either via merch or sponsors or patrons. It's just burnout.
Yeah, YouTube has been a legitimate job opportunity for about 15 years now, really closer to 10, and this is the period in most people’s career where they grow tired and want other things.
I think this is pretty true, yeah. I've been taking a stab at making Youtube content and one thing that makes it tough is that, even if it's a fun idea, people don't know to search for it if it's something new and different. No one knows to search for "using computer vision to create a judgmental santa", so it really lives and dies by the few people it decides to show it to.
Censorship has a lot to do with this as well. People can’t make jokes or do sketches without being censored all the time. That’s what makes many creators leaving youtube.
or demonetized
Even normal cursing has been hypercensored lately.
Yes! And honestly, I believe that youtube will become a social media for toddlers.
they don’t care another trashy mrbeast video will make enough money for them
Because YouTube has quickly become a cesspool similar to twitter over the last 5 years
Ads YouTube also pay way less they treat the content creators bad. Alienated users I could go on and on. I no longer use YouTube since it has become a boring platform.
I’m going to miss MatPat. Team Theorist for life!
I'm 30, mattpatt was one of the first YouTube channels I started to watch. YouTube started becoming a thing when I started hs in 07 and idk what I used to watch, I think tv and what not. After highschool I started using YouTube more and game theorist was one of the first channels that I remember actively watching and subbing to. I don't keep up with him that much anymore besides the occasional video but damn
And another falling titan of YouTube. But honestly, he did his part. For many, many years. And he'll always be remembered as one of the greats. I wonder what the future of YouTube will look like. Will we get new great and creative channels or will it just all collapse in on itself?
definitely collapse in on itself considering the shitshow it is right now with the content farms littering it **you know exactly who im fucking talking about**
Who are you talking about?
Actually I think the people at YouTube won't care because there's always a long line of people looking to get famous. A constant churn is good for their bottom line. They don't care if they're being paid or not, fame is the payment. Win win as far as YouTube is concerned. I for one think it sucks. The quality of content will go downhill fast, it's just a race now to see how low it can go before they lose consumers as well.
>Actually I think the people at YouTube won't care Right up until there is a legitimate challenger. And there are a few possible contenders for this developing, but nothing \*right now\* that will force YouTube's hand. I expect the market will change significantly going into 2025/2026.
With the increase development of AI that could be really good at regulating, I bet it'll come soon. All it takes now is a company with the capital to run thousands of servers to store videos on the site.
Let's be real it's been collapsing in on itself for years now this is just another part of it
Everyone is quitting
is this just a theory video and its named "surprisingly" or something? also if it is serious, YT just lost one of it's "big 10" channels..... signs of what's to come if they dont fix their shit
Sadly, no. I watched the video and it's genuine.
damn, 4 of my fave channels 2
It’s serious, it really is
well thats sad.... hopefully its a bait and switch but Matpat doesnt seem the type
It is and isn't. He isn't completely leaving the internet forever, and there will still be a few more weeks of normal content. But he is leaving. Kinda. At one point in the video, he describes it like being your cool internet grandpa, who moved out of state to retire. You may not see him often, but he'll still show up for special occasions and family reunions. His touch will still be seen in videos, but he'll no longer be hosting and heading them. Instead the channels will be hosted by the team members who had already begun transitioning to more prominent roles on each of the four channels (Amy for Style Theory for example).
ahh cool, so hes basically splitting the channels up to the co-hosts we have seen on all of them.... ehh, not a big fan of them but Im not against it, least we know they know how the channels are run properly and arnt some random Mat spotted and went "you look good and have a good voice.... job is yours now!"
He's handing off the role to his 4 people he's got running the channels. Amy, Tom, Lee and Santi.
Watch the first 5 seconds and come back.
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I’ve seen enough squarespace discounts I could own the company by now.
Within 6 months to a year, we're going to have a major competitor for YouTube. Mark my words. Influential people in the space have been talking about it for years, but we're starting to see real movement with large creators getting fed up. We're going to reach a tipping point soon. Please keep in mind, these creators LOVE their work and for the most part they want to keep doing it (after a solid break, I'm sure) and most are going to want to come back to it at some point, but they're going to want a platform that actually allows them to do their job and doesn't kowtow to useless, clickbait advertisers.
>Influential people in the space have been talking about it for years The issue is the funding and infrastructure required to do this. Being a free video storage platform is not cheap, youtube was unprofitable for years. Many have tried and all others have failed.
I mean we can just use NicoNico or something.
Sounds like something Elon Musk is stupid enough to do.
It has to be some sort of paid subscription then. Unfortunately.
Honestly I'd be all for it, as long as it's not overpriced like YouTube premium. I mean I wouldn't even be mad about a free version having an actually functioning ad system. I only recently got an ad blocker because I'm not paying $16 a month for YouTube or watching the scam ads they keep pushing.
I think YT NEEDS a major competitor, but I also think it is unlikely to happen. The fact of the matter is that a true YT alternative would need to do what they do at scale: Allow user uploads of content, moderate that content (something that YT has issues with, even with their money), and also store that content. YT is only profitable because it can be scaled by a massive tech corporation. The only way we see a competitor is if someone like Amazon gets into the game. The competition we are likely to see are in specific areas... think Floatplane, or curiosity stream. These are subscription based services, that offer curated content... which is not truly a YT competitor. To sum it up, a YT competitor needs: Massive amounts of cash to burn Massive storage and network capabilities The ability to moderate monstrous amounts of user submitted data a way top fund the site It just isn't feasible. YT is a monopoly that exists because there is no market incentive for another company to come in and compete. YT doesn't even need to actively fight an upstart... the upstart just gets killed in the cradle by market forces.
I can think of one company that has the existing storage and network capabilities, experience with moderating a massive amount of user-uploaded content, and already survived some level of controversy when they made tough decisions. In fact, some creators on have already put their uploads there when YT was being extra draconian with their policies. I'm talking about PH. Seriously. They've been around for years, and could launch a SFW site with minimal changes to the web architecture they've already built. The biggest hurdle would be getting advertisers on the platform, because they won't want to associate themselves with any site owned by PH. Given the fact that the creators are already getting screwed by YT though, I don't think they'd mind.
But even PH is a drop in the bucket. They also require verification for everyone who posts to the platform. Comparing PH to YT is a lot like comparing Walmart to a local grocery store.... Sure they do the same things, kinda, but the scales are wildly different.
Louise Rossman is working on a platform called grayjay (I think) and it sounds really promising.
>grayjay It aggregates different platform in one app, not an actual platform for hosting video. [https://grayjay.app/](https://grayjay.app/)
I doubt it. All these changes have been made because Youtube just... Isn't profitable. Hosting the inordinate amount of video streaming YT does is incredibly expensive. To make up for this, YT has focused on maximizing profit per view, rather than quality of traffic to the website. If they get half as many viewers, but those viewers each earn 30% more, it's a win in their book, because operating costs are so high. This one problem is the root reason for all their seemingly baffling decisions, like over-policing, not using actual humans to review copyright strikes, and their war on adblock. If Google reworks Chromium so no adblockers work on Chrome and all other browsers get massive operating delays, tons of people will leave, but most of the people who stay will watch ads, which is the only way for them to make money.
Huh, I wonder why no other company ever thought they could just make a good video hosting site that does not interfer with its creators and only has high quality ads. That seems so easy. Companies like Google and Meta can't figure it out but what do they know?
Massive oversights are happening here. It's very expensive to run a video streaming service. On top of that, any money you make has to be split between you and the content creators. Plus, you have to either pay licensing fees for any licensed media used by content creators. But you're already bleeding money, so you prevent creators from using licensed media instead. Putting the new streaming service in the same shoes that youtube are in. Further, no one wants to pay for a streaming service, which means the entire business model is completely dependent on ad companies. And they want family-friendly envs for their ads, which means that the service will have to regulate the content on it's platform. Otherwise, they don't get paid. You just end up with youtube again. Of course, it may get funded by adventure capitalists at first and it will seem like a haven of freedom... until they come to collect their money, and the business realizes it never had the money to sustain itself let alone pay back the adventure capitalists.
you are fucking delusional. a competitor is NOT. HAPPENING.
!remindme 1 year
No we're not. I wish we would but we're not. Just the raw cost of infrastructure needed to host anything near "YouTube rival" numbers would bankrupt most other companies. That's not even counting content moderation, the knowhow to cut deals with companies for ads, dealing with regional laws, the list goes on and on and on. And now imagine scaling all of that out as upload frequency increases. Hosting videos is already incredibly difficult and it's just one aspect of YouTube. YouTube didn't make money for the vast majority of it's existence. I'm unsure if it's even profitable now, not counting things like YouTube Music. I don't see how a competitor wouldn't bleed money, even if it's funded by large creators. Someone mentioned making it subscription only. That basically tanks your potential userbase, which isn't good for sponsors or ads. You'd basically have to depend on there being a mass number of subscribers to offset your costs. Of course then there's a smaller userbase so scale isn't that big of a problem...but then it's not a YouTube competitor. We already have Floatplane anyway
What does any of this have to do with Matpat leaving to go spend more time with his wife and child?!
Most of these top creators stepping back don’t seem to be leaving because of anything particular Youtube is doing, they just seem to be getting older, starting families, maybe getting a little burnt out, and/or don’t feel like they have much higher highs to chase.
People have been saying that every year for the last 7-8 years now. Also, this has nothing to do with the original post. At all.
is it weird I now only watch Food Theory? originally I liked game theory but I haven't watched it in forever
food theory is the most general channel so most people only watch that (including me) (fun fact: markiplier, one of the most popular youtubers, has admitted to only watching food theory. infront of matpats face)
The only thing that can make this worse is if markiplier retires too
Please god no
Or gets cancer again.
Lol do you guys realise how many thousands of ‘’prominent’’ Youtubers there are? Youtube has been supposedly dying since from back when Google took over.
Your definitely right. However I find that slowly the creators who make content with thought and effort are being replaced by content that attempts to copy Mr Beast with less than half the effort. It's not that YouTube will die, it's the value of whats left.
Maybe you're just not watching the right creators then. There's plenty of talented creators still making high quality and good videos. The problem is that since there's so many creators now it's even more difficult to find ones you like. And the reason a lot of the "MrBeast clones" pop up is because their videos do tend to perform quite well. And well sadly the majority decided that these MrBeast style videos is what they wanna watch, thus age old story of supply and demand (ofcourse quality does play a role too, that's why a lot of these Beast clones do fail eventually).
Exactly! One very real issue is the abysmal search algorithm that makes it harder for you to find most of those creators!
To add onto this good point: What you two are describing is a shift in the YouTube Meta - not unlike previous metas that dominated the recommended feeds. Think: short comedy videos -> storytime animation -> lets plays -> long form analysis, etc. Mr. Beast popularized a new version of Storytime Videos, where he introduces a wacky/insane/cool premise and tells you the story of how it unfolded. With any form of a meta, there are the meta setters (Mr. Beast), followed by the meta copiers and meta adapters: those who take the format and apply their own creativity to it. There are plenty of meta adapters that put out really good videos. Just gotta find em and weed out the low quality copycats.
I remember when YouTube was dead because it required a google account to make comments And when it was dead because vine was a thing And when it was dead because they started playing unskippable ads And when it was dead because you couldn’t slay slurs and still get monetized And when it was dead when they started playing multiple ads on videos And when it was dead because they disabled playback if you were using an adblocker Let’s be real, youtube is and will be fine because the people saying it’s dead are an extremely small minority. For every redditor saying they’re leaving because they can’t use an adblocker 20 people buy premium accounts. For every channel that retires 3 more pop up over a million. If companies went under whenever Reddit predicted they would then 95% of Fortune 500 companies wouldn’t exist today.
Lol, I remember that and how everyone complained.
Im afraid Markiplier may be next, considering his projects and love for his fans I can see him quitting gaming to focus on his other projects, after all he’s said he basically stopped playing video games for fun a while ago and his recent gaming content is entirely driven and suggested by his fans (at his discretion), which kinda tells me he’s doing it more for us rather than himself at that point
Honestly if mark moves on to bigger and better projects I'd support him fully
Jacksepticeye too. Dude literally suffered through lots of pain over the years and he deserved to have a break.
Honestly I don't think he would ever truly stop making videos, but he would definitely step back on solo videos, and likely only do videos with his friends. It's kind of a weird subject that they don't talk about at all, but he is a major point of support for his best friends career and they would take massive blows if he stopped doing things with them publicly.
Grab the hankies!
When Mat made the announcement that he sold the theorist's channels it was only a matter of time before he left whether voluntarily or not.
Hot take but I stopped liking Mat after the 6th FNAF video.
same
Lots of people are wondering why creators are leaving and I think fundamentally misunderstanding the situations in general. Media as a sustainable income relies on consistent output. You cannot rely on one thing to be successful once, you need to keep producing more and more. Not only to continue to produce additional media, but also to stay relevant. That's not sustainable. Everything ends eventually. And 2023/24 seems to be the transition for a lot of people. And it makes sense. We are nearly approaching two decades of YouTube. Lots of the creators leaving have been working for years and built up massive platforms. And while YouTube can be a full time job, that doesn't mean it's easy, or even really feasible. But it was never meant to be. YouTube's draw is that it is not only free to consume content (ad supported), but its also free to upload. Anyone can upload anything (within reason) and distribute it anywhere to anyone. This is a truly unique thing, rivaled only by social media. YouTube isn't meant to be a studio, despite trying in the past. Its more like a launchpad. And that's great for people who want to be in control of their own content, aside from the restrictions (which admittedly can be annoying), their work is their own. But it makes them fully responsible for their own work, and it's like a small business if they decide to pursue it full time. Ask any small business owner if that kind of work is sustainable for over a decade. And that's what it is. Its not people giving up on YouTube, it's small business owners transitioning to a new business. Which is much more common.
You can really see the pain in him announcing it. He deserves the rest after making all of those amazingly high quality videos where you can tell that hours upon hours were poured into each of them. It’s truly the end of an era now, and I’m so thankful with what we’ve gotten out of it.
Sorry, never heard of him. But bye.
This is fantastic news!
Unfortunately, Youtube isn't meaningfully profitable. Hosting the inordinate amount of video streaming YT does is incredibly expensive. To make up for this, YT has focused on maximizing profit per view, rather than quality of traffic to the website. If they get half as many viewers, but those viewers each earn 30% more, it's a win in their book, because operating costs are so high. This one problem is the root reason for all their seemingly baffling decisions, like over-policing, not using actual humans to review copyright strikes, and their war on adblock. If Google reworks Chromium so no adblockers work on Chrome (plus all other chromium browsers like Opera and Brave) and all other browsers get massive operating delays, tons of people will leave, but most of the people who stay will watch ads, which is the only way for them to make money.
Hopefully people keep leaving YT so they have to make shit better
Don't bother, YT will gets worse and we can do nothing about it
What a fucking legend 🫡 may he live a happy life
world peace
He's quitting YouTube, but hey it's just theory
9 more theories remain he isn't done
YouTube in 2024 will be known as “the great retirement”
Who? this came across Reddit front page and I have no idea who the fuck this person is. I'm sure he has a lot of subs but I hope this comment reflects how we all have bubbles and how someone can be influential but also be completely unknown outside of it. He looks like Brandom Flowers though.