HQ Trivia is no more.
CNN Business reports the once-popular game show app officially ceased operations Friday, about three years after its inception. The outlet obtained a company-wide memo from CEO Rus Yusupov, who confirmed the terminations of 25 full-time staffers. The executive explained HQ's lead investors were no longer willing to back the company, and that a potential acquisition had fallen through.
"Effective today, HQ will cease operations and move to dissolution. All employees and contractors will be terminated as of today," Yusupov wrote in the memo. "I want to thank everyone for their hard work and resilience through the good times and bad, in helping to build an innovative and category defining product. This is one of the hardest things to do in my life, and I'm really sorry for any disruption this may cause you and our players."
Developed by Yuzupov and Colin Kroll, HQ became a viral sensation shortly after its 2017 launch. At its peak, the trivia game show attracted nearly three million players per livestream, offering users the chance to real money that would be transferred to their PayPal. However, the novelty of HQ began to wear off, thanks in large part to the influx of cheating bots that took out all the fun.
Tragedy also struck the company in December 2018, when Kroll—who also created the now-defunct Vine alongside Yuzupov—died from a suspected overdose. He was 35 years old.
About four months after Kroll's death, HQ's original host Scott Rogowsky, a.k.a. Quiz Daddy, left the company for the sports streaming network DAZN. He was replaced by Matt Richards, who hosted the show up until the HQ's closure.
Richards reflected on his time at HQ in Friday night tweet.
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