Live mobile game show HQ Trivia was once one of the most-popular apps on mobile devices, but it experienced a steep decline in popularity, culminating with it being shut down as of February 15, 2020. Original HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky has since spoken out about the app's demise, pinning the blame on "sociopathic delusion" among other things.
Former HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky appears to blame those in charge of the app for its closure, painting them as incompetent, arrogant, short-sighted, and as previously mentioned, sociopathic. Rogowsky added that the live mobile game show didn't die of "natural causes," and that he was sad to see it go. However, he's "sadder still" for the people that worked on HQ Trivia who are suddenly finding themselves without a job.
Rogowsky left HQ Trivia in April of 2019, though the game show's troubles started before then. HQ Trivia experienced a steep decline in popularity throughout the year of 2018, punctuated by the untimely death of co-founder Colin Kroll in December of that year. Losing its iconic host in April didn't help matters, though HQ Trivia attempted to stay afloat by introducing a variety of new game types.
However, scandals like HQ Trivia not paying out to all of its winners, including former Jeopardy! champion Alex Jacobs, and reports that the staff attempted a failed mutiny on CEO Rus Yusupov hurt the app's reputation. Player numbers continued to dwindle and while there was an apparent attempt to sell HQ Trivia to an interested buyer, the deal reportedly fell through, leading to its abrupt cancellation.
HQ Trivia's demise came about for a variety of reasons, but it was once a big success, proving that there is a market for something like it. After all, there once was a point where one could pop into an HQ Trivia game and see over 1 million people playing, or spot celebrity guests hosts like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Maybe another company will pick up where HQ Trivia left off and learn from its mistakes to deliver an overall better-received live mobile game show experience.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see where the HQ Trivia team ends up, especially popular hosts like Matt Richards and Anna Roisman.