MatPat is leaving YouTube... (local 20yo realizes change is a thing)

Sorry if this is how you're finding out, but the one and only MatPat of Game Theory (and other channels) just announced today that he's retiring from the platform. It seems like he'll still have a behind-the-scenes influence in the brand and maybe still appear from time to time after his last regular appearance, but he won't be in every single video anymore or write and research for every video. Stuff like that.

Admittedly, I haven't been keeping up with his content in recent years. I was really into GTLive when I was around 14 (2017-2018), but my interests shifted from it pretty quickly. However, I do still feel a little affected by the news, because GTLive really got me through a lot in 9th grade. I had that 7 PM (EST) time slot blocked out every weekday just to watch the livestream. When there wasn't a stream for whatever reason, I would watch one of their old VODs. That is how emotionally dependent I was on it, lol

There's also the fact that MatPat is a pretty big deal, even now, in the online landscape. I mean, he hosted the 2023 Streamy Awards, so that's worth something. And he was in the FNAF movie, obviously.

I was a bit surprised by the news, but it also makes perfect sense, especially since he has a kid now. And I think that the channels are headed in a good direction, judging by the plans he explained in his announcement video. What this really has me thinking about is the fact that YouTube is really on its 19th year. It is almost 20 years old, and that means that we're probably going to be seeing more and more OG YouTubers retiring at some point soon. I know there have been a few already, but to be perfectly honest, I either haven't heard of them before or never watched them lol (oops).

Stuff like Good Mythical Morning and Smosh are still going strong, but even the people we know from those channels will have to leave eventually, and that's crazy to think about. I know that Ian and Anthony are going to still maintain some control and influence in the Smosh brand even after they stop making videos themselves (and, I mean, we kind of saw a preview of that in the late DEFY era), but it's still going to be kind of weird when they do, actually, permanently take a step back. I hope that, when it does happen, they'll make a few jokes about it lol, considering one of them already left before and everything. Meanwhile, I guess Rhett and Link are like, old-school show hosts, so they probably won't retire unless they have to, idk.

It's a little sad to think that the platform will be even more different as more people start to leave. It's also so interesting and exciting, as we'll see the rise of more creators who don't even remember a time before YouTube's existence. I could even be one of them, technically.

I honestly feel so lucky to be alive for this era of a platform like YouTube. It feels weird to say that we are still in the "early era" of YouTube, because, like I mentioned, it's been around for almost 20 years and so much has changed already, but it's true when you think about how long it will (hopefully) remain active in the future. So, this really feels like a historical thing to experience.

...Also, this is kind of the first time I've actually like, been there to get the notification for a sad announcement video like this and witness the news as it's happening. I can only imagine how people felt when the "Anthony is Leaving Smosh" video came out lol.

Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about, I guess. :P