# "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale" In July 2016, YouTuber MatPat of The Game Theorists uploaded a 16-minute video explaining why he gifted Pope Francis a Steam code for the indie RPG Undertale during a Vatican summit. The earnest pitch, built around the game's theme of mercy and the Pope's 2016 Year of Mercy, became a running gaming-internet punchline about fandom overreach. ## Origin In May 2016, MatPat was one of eleven YouTube creators invited to the Vatican for the VI Scholas World Congress, a summit on how internet creators bring people together across cultures[4]. During the meeting with Pope Francis, each creator was expected to present a gift representative of their culture, and MatPat chose a Steam code for Undertale[2]. Since Undertale had no physical release, the pontiff received a redeemable code rather than a disc or box[1]. MatPat published "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale" on The Game Theorists channel on July 5, 2016, laying out his reasoning across sixteen minutes[3]. In the video he argued that Undertale, with its pacifist route and emphasis on sparing enemies, was the single best representative of where the gaming community stood that year[2]. - **Platform:** YouTube - **Creator:** Matthew Patrick (MatPat / The Game Theorists) - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale" is a 16-minute YouTube video from The Game Theorists in which host Matthew "MatPat" Patrick walks through his reasoning for handing Pope Francis a Steam redeem code for Toby Fox's 2015 role-playing game Undertale[1]. The gag that stuck with viewers was the length and sincerity of the pitch, with MatPat framing the gift as a cultural ambassador move for gamers rather than a joke[2]. MatPat's central argument tied the game's recurring mercy mechanic to Pope Francis declaring 2016 the Catholic Church's Year of Mercy, a period focused on forgiveness over harm[2]. He also used the runtime to push back on media narratives calling video games "murder simulators" and dismissing gamers as a monolithic group[3]. The video quickly became shorthand online for the kind of earnest, overblown advocacy that Undertale's fanbase was already known for[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale"? It is a July 2016 YouTube video by The Game Theorists in which MatPat explains why he handed Pope Francis a Steam code for the indie game Undertale during a Vatican summit[1]. ### Where did "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale" come from? MatPat attended the VI Scholas World Congress in May 2016 as one of eleven YouTube creators meeting Pope Francis, and the video explaining his gift choice went up on July 5, 2016[3]. ### What does "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale" mean? MatPat argued Undertale's mercy mechanic matched Pope Francis's 2016 Year of Mercy, hoping papal endorsement would push back on "murder simulator" narratives around gaming[2]. ### How do you use "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale"? It is typically referenced as a punchline about Undertale fandom intensity, with jokes about which games the Pope should get next or imagining him streaming playthroughs[5]. ### Is "Why I Gave The Pope Undertale" still popular? The original 2016 video is a classic gaming-internet reference point rather than an active format, still surfacing in Undertale and MatPat discussions years after upload[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.polygon.com/2016/7/6/12105428/pope-undertale-youtuber]() 2. [https://kotaku.com/youtuber-meets-pope-gives-him-a-copy-of-undertale-1783157410]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8St9oOnkGU]() 4. [https://youtube.googleblog.com/2016/05/youtube-creators-meet-pope-francis-to.html]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/why-i-gave-the-pope-undertale]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/why-i-gave-the-pope-undertale Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library