Let’s be honest: we didn’t set out to build “another quiz app.”
The world has plenty of those. Some are good. Some are… well, they exist. But when QuizUp shut down in 2019, something felt unfinished. Millions of trivia fans were left without a home, and every alternative felt like a compromise.
So we asked ourselves: What if we built the quiz app that QuizUp should have become?
Not a copy. Not a nostalgia cash-grab. But something that learns from QuizUp’s brilliance and its mistakes. Something built with the trivia community, not just for them.
This is the story of why we’re building Quizzy—and why we need your help to get it right.
It Started With a Reddit Thread
One of our founders was scrolling r/QuizUp in late 2023 (yes, it’s still active years after shutdown), and saw this comment:
“I just want an app where I can compete in real-time on topics I care about, without ads, without energy bars, without trying to sell me gems. Is that too much to ask in 2024?”
The replies were heartbreaking:
- “I’ve tried every alternative. Nothing comes close.”
- “I literally had 43,000 games played on QuizUp. I miss it every day.”
- “My friends and I still talk about our QuizUp rivalries. Nothing replaced that feeling.”
And that’s when it clicked: the community isn’t looking for an app. They’re looking for an experience they lost.
What We Learned From QuizUp’s Success
Before we could build something better, we had to understand what made QuizUp special. We interviewed former users, read years of Reddit posts, analyzed reviews, and dove deep into the history.
Here’s what we learned:
1. Topic Specialization Matters
QuizUp let you be a Level 83 in “Friends (TV Show)” while being a Bronze Rookie in Geography. That specificity created identity.
You weren’t just “good at trivia.” You were the person who knew every line from The Office, or every capital in Africa, or every Pokémon’s evolution tree.
Lesson for Quizzy: Deep topic libraries matter more than shallow breadth. Better to have 100 well-crafted topics than 500 generic ones.
2. Real-Time Competition Is Addictive
Turn-based trivia is fine. But there’s something electric about competing in the same moment as your opponent. Seeing their answers pop up, knowing they’re sweating the same question, racing against time—that’s the drug.
Lesson for Quizzy: Real-time multiplayer isn’t optional. It’s the foundation.
3. Community Creates Stickiness
People didn’t just play QuizUp—they belonged to it. They followed topics, chatted with opponents, tracked their rivals on leaderboards.
When QuizUp died, users didn’t just lose an app. They lost friends.
Lesson for Quizzy: Social features aren’t add-ons. They’re core to why people stay.
4. Respect Matters
QuizUp (pre-acquisition) respected your time, your wallet, and your intelligence. No energy bars. No forced ads mid-game. No pay-to-win nonsense.
When Glu Mobile added those things, users left in droves. The message was clear: trivia fans will tolerate a lot, but not disrespect.
Lesson for Quizzy: Free forever means FREE. No tricks.
What We Learned From QuizUp’s Failure
Studying success is easy. Studying failure is more valuable.
1. Monetization Killed the Magic
When Glu Mobile took over, they tried to monetize like every other mobile game: ads between rounds, power-ups for sale, limited energy.
But QuizUp users didn’t want a “game.” They wanted a competitive knowledge platform. The moment it felt like a cash grab, trust evaporated.
Lesson for Quizzy: Monetization must never compromise the core experience. If we can’t figure out how to make money while respecting users, we don’t deserve to exist.
2. Corporate Ownership Doesn’t Understand Community
Glu Mobile is good at what they do (celebrity-licensed mobile games). But QuizUp wasn’t that kind of product. It needed stewards, not executives.
The original team understood this. They engaged in forums, responded to feedback, featured user-created topics. When that connection broke, the app became just another product.
Lesson for Quizzy: Stay independent as long as possible. If we ever sell, it’ll only be to someone who values the community as much as the code.
3. User-Generated Content Is Both a Superpower and a Risk
QuizUp had 1,200+ topics largely because users could create them. But that also meant moderation challenges, quality inconsistencies, and copyright risks.
Glu deprioritized user content, probably to avoid legal headaches. But that was one of QuizUp’s most beloved features.
Lesson for Quizzy: We need user-generated content, but with better guardrails. Think: curated submissions, community voting, clear attribution.
Why Quizzy Will Be Different
Alright, enough about the past. Here’s what makes Quizzy different:
1. We’re Building With the Community, Not For Them
This isn’t a “build it, ship it, hope they like it” situation.
We launched with a closed beta and waitlist specifically to involve founding members in shaping the product. Your feedback will determine:
- Which topics launch first
- How matchmaking works
- What social features matter most
- How we monetize (if we even need to right away)
You’re not just beta testers. You’re co-creators.
2. Free Forever—And We Mean It
No energy systems. No pay-to-win mechanics.
Quizzy will always have a completely free tier that includes the full core experience.
We’ll never make you pay to play.
3. True Multilingual From Day One
QuizUp was great, but it was very English-centric at launch. Other languages came later, often as afterthoughts.
Quizzy is launching in 10 languages simultaneously:
- English
- Spanish
- Portuguese
- Chinese
- Hindi
- German
- French
- Russian
- Arabic
- Croatian
Trivia should be global from the start.
4. Modern Tech = Lightning Fast
QuizUp was built in 2013. Mobile technology has come a long way since then.
Quizzy is built with:
- Real-time infrastructure designed for zero-lag multiplayer
- Cloud architecture that scales effortlessly
- Modern UI/UX with smooth animations (but no fluff)
- Cross-platform sync so your progress follows you everywhere
Translation: You’ll never wait more than a second to find a match, and the app will feel faster than anything you’ve used.
5. Quality Over Quantity (At First)
We’re launching with 100+ topics and 10,000+ questions. That’s less than QuizUp had at its peak—and that’s intentional.
Every question has been:
- Written or curated by topic experts
- Fact-checked
- Tested for clarity
- Balanced for difficulty
We’d rather have 10,000 great questions than 100,000 mediocre ones.
(User-generated content will come later, once we have the moderation infrastructure.)
What We Need From You
Here’s the truth: we can’t build this without you.
Not in a “we need users” sense. In a “we need your wisdom, your ideas, your honesty” sense.
How You Can Help Right Now:
1. Join the Waitlist We’re launching when we hit 1,000 founding members. Every signup brings us closer.
2. Tell Us What Matters What did QuizUp get right? What drove you crazy? What would make Quizzy your app?
Email us: info@joinquizzy.com
3. Spread the Word Know someone who misses QuizUp? Tag them. Share this post. Let’s rebuild the community together.
4. Be Patient (And Brutally Honest) We’re in closed beta. Things will break. Features will be missing. But we promise to listen and iterate quickly.
If something sucks, tell us. We can’t fix what we don’t know about.
Our Promise to You
Building a product people love is hard. Building a community people love is even harder.
So here’s our commitment:
We Promise To:
✅ Keep Quizzy free forever for the core experience
✅ Never sell out to a company that doesn’t respect the community
✅ Listen more than we talk
✅ Be transparent when we screw up (and we will)
✅ Build for the long term, not a quick exit
✅ Treat you like partners, not users
We Will NOT:
❌ Add energy systems
❌ Create pay-to-win mechanics
❌ Lock core gameplay behind paywalls
❌ Ignore your feedback
❌ Disappear overnight
The Road Ahead
We’re not naive. Building a successful app is ridiculously hard. The odds are stacked against us.
But here’s why we think it’s possible:
- The market is there. Millions of former QuizUp fans are still searching for alternatives.
- We’re learning from history. We know what killed QuizUp—and we’re avoiding those mistakes.
- We have you. The founding community is our secret weapon.
What Happens Next:
Phase 1 (Now - Q1 2026): Closed Beta
- Refining core gameplay
- Building initial topic library
- Setting up infrastructure
Phase 2 (Q1 2026): Soft Launch
- Founding members get early access
- Limited release to test scaling
- Gather feedback, iterate
Phase 3 (Q2 2026): Public Launch
- Full release on iOS and Android
- Marketing push
- Community growth
Phase 4 (Q2-Q3 2026): Expansion
- More topics
- User-generated content
- Advanced social features
- Tournament system
A Final Word: Why This Matters
You might be thinking: “It’s just a trivia app. Does this really matter?”
Here’s why we think it does:
Because knowledge should be fun.
Because curiosity deserves a home.
Because communities built around shared interests are rare and precious.
QuizUp proved that millions of people around the world want to:
- Test themselves
- Learn new things
- Connect with fellow nerds
- Feel like experts in something that matters to them
That need didn’t disappear when QuizUp did. It’s still there, waiting.
And we think we can meet it.
But not alone. Only together.
Join Us
If you made it this far, you’re exactly the kind of person we want in our founding community.
Join the waitlist. Be part of building something special. Help us create the quiz app that should have existed all along.
Current Progress: 700+ / 1,000 founding members
Let’s Connect
Have questions? Want to share ideas? Just want to say hi?
Email: info@joinquizzy.com
Twitter/X: @quizzylabs
Instagram: @quizzylabs
Discord: (coming for founding members)
We read every message. We respond to every thoughtful email. This is your app as much as ours.
Thanks for believing in us. Let’s build something great together.
— The Quizzy Team
P.S. What’s your dream quiz topic? What would make you use Quizzy every day? Email us at info@joinquizzy.com — your idea might just make it into the launch lineup.
