HQ Trivia has made a surprise comeback with $1,000 show
Now that we have even more time to spend on our mobile devices with the quarantine and shelter-in-place campaigns, you probably wished that popular live mobile game HQ Trivia was still alive. Well, apparently, games do come back to life in unexpected ways. It made an almost-unannounced and surprise return Sunday evening and the first game back from the grave had a pot prize of $1,000. They also took the time to announce a donation of $100,000 to World Central Kitchen, just in time for the country’s current emergency situation.
Around mid-February, the live game show announced they were shutting down after various financial and internal issues, including the death of co-founder and CEO Colin Kroll in 2018. They were not able to fully recover despite efforts to expand their product line and investors began pulling out. And on Valentine’s Day this year, they announced that they will immediately “cease operations and move to dissolution”.
As per Venture Beat, on the morning of March 30, host Matt Richards suddenly tweeted that HQ Trivia would be back “on-air” at 9PM Eastern. And it wasn’t an advanced April Fools prank as they were indeed back, thanks to a yet unnamed investor. The grand prize was $1,000 and around 10,000 people won so they got to take home around 9-10 cents each. The first game back was pretty easy and a gimme but expect it to go back to “normal” soon.
In keeping with the times, the company that owns HQ Trivia donated $100,000 to World Central Kitchen, an organization that provides meals for those in emergency zones, including those affected by the coronavirus. The charity’s founder Jose Andres even guested on the live show to express his gratitude. All throughout the show, Richards made jokes and reminded people to stay at home and wash their hands.
Now as to how long this new investor can keep the game afloat, especially in light of all that’s happening in the world right now, that remains to be seen. But while it’s here and you have nothing better to do, then go and play some trivia games even if you win just 6 cents.
