HQ Trivia is dead, report says

HQ Trivia is reportedly calling it quits. The live mobile trivia game is shutting down and will lay off its 25 full-time employees, according to a Friday report by CNN. 

The live streaming game, in which participants could use their phones to tune in twice a day and play for a chance to win real money, became one of the hottest trends after its launch in 2017. But its popularity began to fade in the following years. HQ had around 15 million all-time installs, with a high of 2 million in February 2018, according to mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Last month, HQ had a mere 67,000 installs, according to the intelligence firm. 

HQ also had to deal with internal challenges such as the death of co-founder Colin Kroll in December 2018 and layoffs of 20% of its staff in July 2019.  

CEO Rus Yusupov reportedly sent a company email Friday saying "lead investors are no longer willing to fund the company, and so effective today, HQ will cease operations and move to dissolution." He also said the company had brought in a banker to "help find additional investors and partners to support the expansion of the company," and that HQ Trivia had "received an offer from an established business" and planned to close the deal on Saturday before the possible acquisition fell through, according to CNN. 

HQ Trivia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Originally published Feb. 14 at 3:02 p.m. PT.
Update, 3:14 p.m.: Adds more details from Yusupov's email; 4:12 p.m.: Adds information on HQ Trivia installs.