After 13 years of ruining and creating childhoods for millions of his viewers, Matthew Patrick, known in the YouTube world as MatPat, ended his hosting stint in all four shows of Theorist Media with a marathon of videos this week.
Patrick, who announced his retirement last January and made several more videos in the past few weeks as part of the transition, would be handing over presenter duties to the creative directors of his company's YouTube channels: Tom Robinson (The Game Theorists), Forrest Lee (The Film Theorists), Santi Massa (The Food Theorists), and Amy Roberts (The Style Theorists).
The MatPat finale marathon started in Style Theory, where he and his wife, Stephanie Patrick, sought the assistance of human style experts in contrast to experimenting with algorithm-based fashion websites. Patrick also announced at the end of the video that he and Roberts would be hosting a fashion show in April that would be livestreamed on The Style Theorists YouTube channel.
For Food Theory, Patrick allowed Massa to redeem himself from a previous video where they both tried to make a cake using Prime, the energy drink brand developed by fellow YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI.
Meanwhile, Patrick highlighted in his final Film Theory episode about the lack of male role model characters in film and other media and connected it with his personal role as a father to Ollie, a son he shares with Stephanie.
Honoring the Original Game Theorist
For his final theory ever, which was uploaded in The Game Theorists, Patrick mentioned Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient John von Neumann and his concept of Game Theory and the importance of cooperation, conviction, forgiveness, and honesty in gaining trust, from day-to-day life to geopolitical issues, and everything in between.
"This guy was a key player in the invention of the digital computer, he helped with the discovery of the structure of DNA, even the creation of key components of [J. Robert] Oppenheimer's Manhattan Project," he said about von Neumann. "But perhaps his biggest claim to fame was Game Theory, the idea that, in any situation where there are two or more people - or players, in this case - you can model out a game that will help you find the best outcome."
"In short, Game Theory is the study of strategic choice. It's math that tells you what people are gonna do and who's gonna win the game," Patrick added.
Patrick also referred to the video made by Derek Muller of the YouTube channel Veritasium in creating his final theory, as well as Robert Axelrod and the concept of trust from his 1984 book "The Evolution of Cooperation."
The Von Neumann-Patrick Connection
Patrick also connected von Neumann's Game Theory with his show of the same name by indicating that the latter was heavily influenced by the former and credited its continued relevance to the trust forged by its creators and collaborators, including Stephanie, Lee (who would succeed Patrick in Film Theory), and the late Ronnie Edwards, The Game Theorists' first video editor who committed suicide in 2018.
"Game Theory - the show - is a testament to those four lessons of Game Theory, the nerdy economics concept," he explained. "Every person who has built this channel has led with trust."
Hanging Up the Bright Red Coat
Nearing the end of the video, Patrick thanked his viewers for their trust as Team Theorists (the unofficial name of the people behind Theorist Media and its fans) expanded and developed. He also hoped that his fans would put the same trust they gave to him in the new "Theory" presenters.
"While I might be leaving as host of this show, Game Theory [will] never leave," he said. "It will never leave me and will never leave you. We are all Game Theory...."
As Patrick's essay video ended, the show's fans were given a chance to say his typical closing spiel: "But hey, that's just a theory..."
Afterward, Roberts, Massa, Lee, and Robinson were seen sitting on a couch, completing the sentence with their respective shows while Patrick hung his iconic bright red coat behind them.
Then, in a colorful farewell gesture, MatPat was greeted by Stephanie at the door and ended his stint by completing the spiel and closing the door.
In typical Game Theory fashion, Patrick's final episode produced six endings, the first one of which is included in the video itself.
However, the sixth ending was what the channel called the "Real Ending." In it, Patrick made one final message.
"It has been an honor to be your YouTuber, your entertainer, your teacher, your parasocial friend, whatever role I've played in your life; Thank you." he said. "I'm excited about it being your turn.... You're the theorists now ... and I cannot wait to see what you discover."
"This isn't an ending. Instead, this is a brand new and exciting beginning. And that's not a theory. That, right there, that's a fact."
