The Game Theorists (MatPat) Net Worth: How Much Money He Makes On YouTube
(MatPat) TheGameTheorists Net Worth – $100 Million
Matthew Patrick is a famous YouTuber known as The Game Theorists or MatPat and has made most of his fame plus net worth through YouTube. His videos are mainly educational videos on video games and go deep into various things in different games such as origin, history, culture and even how one game universe connects to another. YouTube channel The Film Theorists is also run by him and it has the same concept but with films this time round. He has an estimated net worth of $42 million mainly earned from his two popular channels.
Matt was born in Ohio. He loved school when he was younger and he graduated as the valedictorian. He went to Duke University to do a double major in neuroscience and theater. He wanted to be an actor but he was largely unemployed. This period is when Game Theory was born and has been a success ever since.
How Much Money Does MatPat or The Game Theorists Earns Online?
The Game Theorists has over 14 million subscribers and has accumulated over 4 billion views (0.2bn deleted) since it started out back in August 2009. In a day the videos in the channel collectively get around 1.1 million views per day which in turn generates an estimated revenue of around $8,800 per day ($3.2 million a year) from YouTube ads.
YouTube content creators based in the US, UK, Canada and Australia generally get paid $2 – $12 per 1000 monetized views after YouTube takes its cut. Monetized views usually range from 40% – 80% of the total views. All these are influenced by several factors like the device played on, time of the year, the location of the viewer, ad inventory, how many ads there are on a video, how many people skip the ads, type of advertisement, ad engagement, type of content, etc.
The cost of an ad view is based on an auction between advertisers based on views. Advertisers have to bid a minimum of $0.01 per view. There is also a program known as Google Preferred where deep-pocketed companies can target ads on the top 5% most popular content. The ad rates here are higher than normal.
Apart from ads, YouTube content creators also generate extra income from other methods such as YouTube Premium, Superchats & Superstickers, Super Thanks, Channel Membership and Shopping.
YouTube Premium viewers pay a monthly fee to view premium content on YouTube and watch videos without ads. Here, content creators get paid based on watch time on their videos. The longer the viewers watch their videos, the more money they earn.
Super Chat and Super Sticker are used by fans to connect with creators during live streams and premiers. When one buys a Super Chat, their comment is highlighted within the live chat while the Super Stickers get an animated image that surfaces in live chat. Super Thanks lets creators earn revenue from viewers who want to show extra gratitude for their videos. Fans can buy a one-time animation and get to post a distinct, colorful, and customizable comment in the video’s comment section.
Shopping allows eligible creators to connect their stores to YouTube to feature their own products.
YouTube Shorts generate revenue in a different way as compared to traditional videos. The revenue from ads appearing between Shorts will be pooled together then a portion of the total revenue will be allocated to a Creator Pool. Each country has its own Creator Pool. Eligible creators will be paid based on their share of total views. Shorts that use music make less money due to licensing costs.
General Expenses
Content creators incur a wide variety of expenses to create their content. These can include things like production costs, employee salaries, travel expenses, rent, buying new equipment, utilities, amenities, entertainment, subscription fees and other living expenses. One of the biggest expenses for most creators is taxes. Your tax brackets generally depend on your income. In a country like the United States, the highest tax rate is 37%. A combination of all these expenses determines one’s ability to save and invest, consequently how much one’s net worth grows.
Other Sources Of Income
i) Merchandise & Sponsorships
MatPat is able to earn extra income from selling merchandise and endorsement deals. He has been sponsored by Audible, TellTale Games, Capcom, Naturebox, Ubisoft, Squarespace etc. He also has three other popular YouTube channels GTLive, The Food Theorist and The Film Theorist.
ii) Investments
Investments refer to the allocation of funds into various assets or financial instruments with the expectation of generating a return over time. The primary purpose of investments is to grow wealth, preserve capital, or meet specific financial goals. There are various forms of investments, including stocks, bonds, real estate, mutual funds, and alternative investments like commodities or cryptocurrencies. Each investment type carries its own set of risks and potential rewards.
Sale of Theorist YouTube Channels
In 2023, MatPat and Stephanie Patrick decided to sell their YouTube channels (The Game Theorist, The Film Theorists, The Food Theorist and GTLive) under Theorist Media to Lunar X. This move was inspired by the need to get extra help to get their projects up and running faster. Their latest channel The Food Theorists took more than three years to launch. Mat also didn’t like the complexity of running the business since it took up too much time away from the creative part of the business.
MatPat will remain as the CEO and frontman of Theorists’ channels while Stephanie will remain as COO. The rest of the team will remain intact for now.