QuizUp is a mobile game originally developed and published by Iceland-based Plain Vanilla Games, and now operated by Glu Mobile. The game is a mobile trivia app similar to the game Trivial Pursuit. QuizUp is a multiplayer game in which one user competes against another during seven rounds of timed multiple-choice questions of various topics. There are over 1,200 total topics available to users to choose from, and all the questions are voluntarily submitted by content contributors. Most topics are available in different languages. QuizUp was initially released for iOS in November 2013. Plain Vanilla Games released an Android version in March 2014. As of May 2014, QuizUp had 20 million users and has raised over $26 million from venture capital investments. Over a billion matches had been played in over 197 countries by March 2014. The company claims that users play an average of 40 minutes each day. On 30 September 2015, Plain Vanilla Games announced that they had reached a deal with Universal Television, the production arm of NBC, for a 10-episode television game show based on the app. Five days later, on 5 October 2015, it was announced that British channel ITV had also acquired the rights to their own game show version. Production began on the game show and the first episode was to air on 5 March 2017. However, the television show was scuttled by NBC in August 2016. In September 2016, as a result of NBC cancelling their show, QuizUps creator, Plain Vanilla, laid off all of their employees and announced a plan to sell the app before the end of 2016. QuizUp was acquired by mobile game developer Glu Mobile for 7.5 million USD, and the phrase QuizUp is "alive and kicking" was relayed to its vast community of players through the separate topic QuizUp: Feedback as well as through social media.
Gameplay
Users start a game by choosing a topic of interest from over 1000 available categories. After the user picks a topic, they have the ability to either challenge a friend to a match or be paired against a random player. Users have the option of signing into the app through a social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ which allows the user to see current friends who are using the app, invite friends to join them on the app, or challenge their friends to a game. The user can also choose to sign into QuizUp with an email address and not connect with a social media site. Players have the option of choosing to play with a friend or with a random stranger who may be in another country. When the user has challenged someone, and the opposing user agrees to play, the match begins. Each match consists of six normal rounds and one bonus round that concludes the game. In each of the six normal rounds, the same question is given to each player with ten seconds to choose an answer out of the four responses provided. Users are awarded for the accuracy and speed of their answer, with a maximum of 20 points awarded per round. Point totals are doubled during the bonus round. Answering slowly or not giving an answer at all results in reduced points or no points respectively. The user will earn one point fewer per second that they wait, with a minimum of 11 points if they answer correctly. Incorrect answers earn zero. The maximum points possible to be scored in a single game is 160 ; the player with the most points wins the match.
