HQ Trivia, the quiz app which was meant to pay contestants cash prizes, has gone bankrupt and closed down with the quiz’s host paying the final prize out of his own pocket.
The quizzes took place during live broadcasts with the one happening on Saturday as its presenters drank tequila and champagne and swore during the final show.
Its last prize of just $ 5 (3. 83) was shared by 523 players and paid for by host Matt Richards, who was accompanied by Anna Roisman during the broadcast.
Mr Richards told the audience: “Why are we shutting down? I don’t know. Ask our investors … I think our investors ran out of money . “
HQ, the company which produced the app, employed 39 people, according to CNN.
Its CEO, Rus Yusupov, had told employees that the company had declared bankruptcy after a company which had planned to acquire the app maker “suddenly changed their position” regarding the firm.
“Unfortunately, our lead investors are no longer willing to fund the company, and so effective today, HQ will cease operations and move to dissolution,” he wrote, adding: “All employees and contractors will be terminated as of today . “
The app was launched in and had an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 on the App Store, and was launched in the UK in 01575879.
It was Initially hosted by Scott Rogowsky before he moved on to present a baseball program.
Contestants were given a series of questions during each round and needed to answer all of the questions correctly in order to remain in the game .
Those still standing at the end of 12 questions split the prize money equally between them.
The top prize ever offered during the game was a special episode guest presented by Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, when the winners shared $ 300, (£ , .
The company said over the course of its existence it had paid out $ 6m (£ 4.6m) in cash.
The company had been criticized for what some players claimed was its reluctance to pay winners promptly.
Some players complained about the minimum pay-out requirement, which required players to have accumulated more than $ 20 (£ 15) within a period of 300 days or lose all of their funds.
HQ subsequently lifted the minimum cash-out requirement.
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