In 2014, shortly after his stint on ABC Family's "Switched at Birth," he took a hiatus from acting after working for nearly 15 years in the industry for personal reasons, all while focusing on writing scripts for future endeavors. In the summer of 2016, he started working for WB's YouTube gaming channel Machinima as a host, editor and producer for a variety of content. This led to him leading his own YouTube Channel through Machinima, Ascender, which was the focus on live action, story drive video game adaptations, starting with the series SIXERS, based on Ubisoft's Rainbow Six: Siege property. Stephen parted ways with the company, taking the Ascender channel with him, using it to rebrand his own production company.