Why Jacksepticeye's Fans Are Worried About His Retirement
After seeing Jacksepticeye's reaction to a fellow YouTuber's retirement, some fans are afraid that he may also be leaving the game behind. On January 8, MatPat — creator of The Game Theorists and its related channels — shocked fans by beginning the year with a major announcement: He's almost done with YouTube. The 37-year-old content creator explained that he's ready to move on with his life and career, and he'll be ceding hosting duties to someone else as of March of this year. This is a tremendous shake-up for MatPat's fans and the world of YouTube in general, as he's been active in the industry for well over a decade at this point. Though he will continue to oversee these channels in the future, MatPat on-camera presence will be greatly diminished. The announcement sent shockwaves through the YouTube community, but Jacksepticeye's response was particularly upsetting for longtime fans.
Following the release of MatPat's video, Jacksepticeye took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay tribute to the beloved YouTuber, writing, "MatPat has done so much for youtube and youtubers over the years! Hard to believe he won't be around like always anymore. Thanks for everything Mat! Can't wait to see what you do next." On January 10, Jacksepticeye ominously added, "MatPat's video made me realise that I've also been doing youtube for a literal third of my life..."
MatPat's video made me realise that I've also been doing youtube for a literal third of my life...
— Jacksepticeye (@Jacksepticeye) January 10, 2024
The tone of this post and its relation to MatPat's surprising new upload has caused some fans to question whether or not Jacksepticeye is also considering calling it a day.
Fans and colleagues respond to Jacksepticeye's post
Viewers and colleague began responding to Jacksepticeye's seemingly wistful post almost immediately, with many of them attempting to head off any discussion of retirement. "Don't you f***ing [dare] man," replied Tubbo, which prompted a flood of replies agreeing with him. The official account of the Opera GX browser — weirdly a reliable source of witty retorts on X — responded with a similar sentiment: "Don't even think about it Jack." Meanwhile, @DramaAlert predicted that this post meant Jacksepticeye was considering retirement, which led to a number of angry commenters suggesting the account should change its name to "DramaGossip."
Jacksepticeye to Retire! 😵‼️
( PREDICTION ) pic.twitter.com/BZNvdbrpHG
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) January 10, 2024
At this point, fans and fellow streamers aren't sure what to think of Jacksepticeye's post, but it's clear that many would be heartbroken to say goodbye to another YouTube legend so soon. One fan posted, "if jacksepticeye or markiplier quit youtube I'd probably cry for a solid month." Another went a bit further by writing, "The Internet is literally going to explode if Markiplier or Jacksepticeye leaves. We are really starting to lose the pioneers of Youtube. Crazy times." Truly, the last several months have been filled with high profile retirement announcements from popular YouTubers, with notable names like CaptainSparklez and Tom Scott stepping back from the platform after a decade or more. For fans who have watched the YouTube community expand over the years, it must feel like the end of an era in many ways.
MrBeast's reaction to Jacksepticeye's post causes concern
Jacksepticeye wasn't the only YouTube personality to weigh in on the reality of their content creation career in an introspective way. In fact, it was Jack's post that led MrBeast to point out just how long he had been at this, posting, "I've also been doing YouTube for 60%+ of my life. I can barely remember the pre YouTube days." While this tweet has led some folks to brace themselves for the end of MrBeast's channel, fans probably don't need to fret.
Ive also been doing YouTube for 60%+ of my life. I can barely remember the pre YouTube days
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 10, 2024
MrBeast has said on multiple occasions that he doesn't really ever see himself retiring. In early 2023, he even revealed that he has a video planned to publish in the event of his death, so he's not going to hang it up anytime soon. Still, the sudden announcement of MatPat's retirement has led fans to concoct all sorts of theories about who might leave YouTube next, and comments like these (no matter how innocent they may be) aren't exactly helping folks to stay calm.
At this point, any statement Jacksepticeye makes about his plans for the future may very well be met with a sideways glance from 30 million uneasy fans. After all, so many viewers have already been shaken up by other recent YouTube retirees — it's difficult to predict what other surprises might await the YouTube community in 2024.