The archive · Consumer Apps · Product decision · 2017–2020
HQ Trivia's live mobile game-show bet: 2.38M players, $15M raised, 2020 shutdown
A live 12-question trivia game show on phones, created by Vine's co-founders, drew 2.38M concurrent players at its peak — then ran out of cash in February 2020.
HQ Trivia (Intermedia Labs)
What the business is
HQ Trivia is a live mobile game show, created by two of Vine's co-founders under parent company Intermedia Labs, where players answer 12 questions twice a day to split real cash prizes.
Starting capital：More than $15 million raised, including a 2018 round led by Founders Fund with Lightspeed, at a reported $100 million valuation (Variety; TechCrunch).
How it started
Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll, two of the creators of Vine, launched HQ Trivia in 2017 under Intermedia Labs. TechCrunch wrote the first coverage of the 12-question live game in October, and the app debuted on iOS before an Android beta arrived later that year (TechCrunch; The Verge).
What happened
HQ went viral over the 2017 holidays: The Verge reported 500,000-750,000 players per game, then a 1 million-player milestone on January 7, 2018 as the Android beta pushed it further, with prize pots climbing as high as $20,000. Intermedia raised $15 million led by Founders Fund at a reported $100 million valuation in 2018 (Variety). At its peak, on March 28, 2018, a Warner Bros.-sponsored game drew 2.38 million concurrent players (TechCrunch). The decline followed fast: monthly installs fell from more than 2 million in February 2018 to about 560,000 by July, as cheaters, worldwide copycats and slow development wore the novelty down (TechCrunch).
How it ended up
An acquisition fell through at the last minute, investors stopped funding the company, and on February 14, 2020 HQ Trivia laid off all 25 employees and moved to dissolution (TechCrunch; Variety).
Background
HQ Trivia, created by Vine co-founders Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll under Intermedia Labs, launched in 2017 as a live mobile game show: 12 questions, real cash prizes, twice a day. TechCrunch wrote the first coverage, and the iOS app spread through holiday word of mouth (TechCrunch; The Verge).
By January 2018 the game regularly drew 500,000-750,000 players and passed 1 million in a single session as its Android beta arrived; prize pots ran as high as $20,000 (The Verge). Intermedia raised $15 million led by Founders Fund in 2018 at a reported $100 million valuation (Variety).
HQ peaked at 2.38 million concurrent players on March 28, 2018 in a Warner Bros.-sponsored game, but the fall was steep: monthly installs dropped from over 2 million in February 2018 to about 560,000 by July, with cheaters and copycats eroding the experience (TechCrunch).
The company never found a second act: downloads fell to 8% of their prior-year level by July 2019, an acquisition collapsed at the last minute, and on February 14, 2020 HQ laid off all 25 employees and shut down with about 15 million lifetime installs (TechCrunch; Variety).
What has to be true
- The format was appointment TV on a phone: a live host, countdowns and real cash made every session a shared, time-boxed event.
- Word of mouth spread fast: iOS launch, holiday boredom and the Android beta pushed the game past 1 million concurrent players by January 2018.
- Money made the news: big jackpots and sponsor deals with Warner Bros., Fox and others kept HQ in headlines.
- Cheaters and clones ate the economics: prize splits fell to cents and worldwide copycats diluted the novelty.
- The company was too slow to evolve: new formats arrived late, engagement slid, and by 2020 investors and a last-minute buyer both walked.
What can be applied
Live scarcity creates overnight hits, not durable products: cheaters, clones and slow updates eroded HQ's 2.38 million-player peak, and the money ran out before the next act.
Aftermath
HQ Trivia ceased operations on February 14, 2020, laying off all 25 employees after a would-be buyer with definitive agreements pulled out the day before closing and lead investors declined to fund further. CEO Rus Yusupov said the company would move to dissolution, ending with about 15 million lifetime installs and just 67,000 downloads in its final month (Sensor Tower via Variety). Monthly installs had peaked at 2 million in February 2018; by July 2019 downloads were 8% of the prior year, and no second act arrived in time.
Sources
- HQ hits 1 million players milestone as trivia app soars in popularity
- HQ Trivia downloads spiral downward as it hits Apple TV
- HQ Trivia shuts down after acquisition falls through
- HQ Trivia Live Game App Shuts Down
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