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HQ Trivia Lays Off Staff and Pivots to $9.99/Month Subscription Model for HQ Words

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It's been well over a year since HQ Trivia spiked in popularity, but now that interest in the game is dwindling and downloads per month are down 92 percent year-over-year, the company has begun laying off employees.

According to sources speaking to TechCrunch, about 20 percent of staff was let go, amounting to six or seven people. Although the app became immensely popular, HQ Trivia only ever staffed about 35 people, so it will now be down to under 30 employees.

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In the wake of its dwindling popularity, HQ Trivia's spin-off game HQ Words is launching a monthly subscription model that will cost $9.99 per month. The Wheel of Fortune-style game will introduce the new model in August, along with bigger prizes and more ways to win, for those who pay the subscription fee.

HQ Trivia is said to have had a rocky first half of 2019, with co-founder and CEO Colin Kroll's death in December 2018 leading into co-founder Rus Yusupov gaining control. Staff apparently disliked Yusupov's leadership, as he allegedly "allowed the product to stagnate and popularity to decline," so many employees got behind a petition to have him removed as CEO.

Yusupov learned of the petition and fired two of its leaders, further sinking morale at the company. The board is reportedly still looking for a new CEO.

Tags: HQ Trivia, HQ Words

Top Rated Comments

A
Andronicus
88 months ago
Looks like their staff is now down to the nitty gritty.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sethal Avatar
Sethal
88 months ago
Another subscription, oh, boy! And $9.99 no less for a iPhone game. Well, can’t say they ain’t bold. Good luck with that.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
F
fluffyrabies
88 months ago
For the children!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
sniffies
88 months ago
With average person's attention span getting shorter and shorter by the second, people stop obsessing over viral hits quicker and quicker, eventually abandoning and forgetting about them altogether.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
jmpmntwnty3
88 months ago
What is the logic behind paying to play a game where you can only win like $0.10 per game at best?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
jecowa
88 months ago
Remember when Apple removed the screen from the iPhone? It was really controversial, but then all the Android phones started copying it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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