A record-setting 1.2 million people just competed for a $10,000 cash prize in the hottest app around
- The wildly popular smartphone app "HQ Trivia" surpassed 1 million concurrent players for the first time on Sunday night.
- The game recently expanded to Android phones, which likely accounts for the huge jump in the number of players lately.
- A $10,000 prize was up for grabs on Sunday night's game, which was divided between around 400 winners. Each took home $24.45
The hottest smartphone app of 2017 is only getting bigger in 2018.
More than 1.2 million people logged on to play "HQ Trivia" on Sunday night - a new record for the app and a huge amount of players for any game, let alone at one time.
The trivia app costs nothing, and is available on both iOS and Android devices. Players log on at specific times, twice on weekdays and once each day on weekends, to participate in a live trivia game. Best of all: Winners are rewarded with actual cash prizes.
Sunday night's prize total was $10,000, which was split between around 400 people who each got about $25.
The game has become an explosive hit, spawning memes and elevating one of its hosts to cult celebrity status.
The hosts of "HQ" affectionately refer to players as "HQties" (pronounced "H-cuties"), and many of the game's millions of players tune in dutifully each day. The game was only available on iOS until recently; an Android version launched in the last few weeks, thus adding a new infusion of players.
The game's growth has been massive in the last few months, with players counts swelling dramatically as "HQ" went from an obscure app to a cultural phenomenon.
A chart tweeted out by venture capitalist Jay Kapoor demonstrates how large the game has become as of late:
Since the game's beloved host Scott Rogowsky is on vacation currently, actress and comedian Sarah Pribis hosted the game on Sunday night.
Still, Rogowsky took to Twitter to sum up Sunday night's achievement:
The Next Smartphone by the BI Intelligence Research Team.
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