HQ Trivia officially closed up shop late Friday night, hosting the final show in the startup’s tumultuous history. Matt Richards and Anna Roisman served as emcees for the final go-around, a stream that went on to last a whopping 40 minutes thanks to dozens of messy, booze-fueled tangents. After all, the failed start-up gave employees they fired earlier in the day access to its live-streaming software that has the capability of reaching millions of fans.
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“If you just got here, this is HQ trivia, It’s a live mobile gameshow,” Roisman said towards the beginning of the stream. “We’re gonna read about 34 questions and then you’re gonna win about 2 cents and you’re gonna f-cking love it.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the profanity-laced comments.
You can see the delightfully insane, oftentimes hilarious, finale in its entirety above.
The game first launched in 2017 after the app raised $15 million in venture funding and at one point boasted massive numbers of 2.3 million trivia fiends. Before long, the company was thrust into one roadblock after another. First, co-founder Colin Kroll passed away, then fan-favorite host Scott Rogowsky was unceremoniously fired from the app. One round of layoffs resulted after some remaining employees tried to oust their CEO and eventually, investors decided to pull the plug on the app.
Rogowsky himself offered a comment on the downfall Saturday morning, suggesting the app died because it suffered from a “lethal cocktail” of incompetence and arrogance.
“HQ didn’t die of natural causes,” said Rogowsky. “It was poisoned with a lethal cocktail of incompetence, arrogance, short-sightedness and sociopathic delusion. Saddened to see it finally succumb; sadder still for the good and talented staff abruptly left in the lurch after being gaslit and lied to. I appreciate all the kind messages from my loyal HQties. I share your frustrations and condolences. “
