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HQ now lets you see which friends are actually your competitors

HQ now lets you see which friends are actually your competitors

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HQ wants to encourage friends to connect within the app

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Mobile game show HQ Trivia today announced a few new in-app social features designed to make the game more enjoyable with friends. While the app has brought co-workers, family members, and friend groups together in real life, not everyone has a core group to play with at the 3PM and 9PM match times, at least not every day. So HQ is adding a new feature called “Friends on HQ,” launching today in the UK with a US launch soon, to let you connect with friends, see who’s actively playing in any given game, and compare high scores and wins.

According to TechCrunch, an HQ spokesperson says “this update forms the basis of a variety of new features that HQ will be rolling out soon, leveraging friends’ connections.” We don’t know what form those new features will take, but it’s not farfetched to imagine HQ launching group games, in the vein of pub trivia, or figuring out ways to incentivize people to play by encouraging friendly competition.

Intermedia Labs, the company behind HQ created by Vine co-founders Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll, has just started cashing in on its steady, twice-daily million-plus viewership with lucrative ad sponsorships. Later this week, the company will feature its first celebrity guest host, with Dwanye Johnson taking over duties from mainstay Scott Rogowsky on Wednesday in a record-breaking $300,000 game. But HQ’s long-term success is dependent on people sticking with the app day in and day out, especially when it’s not featuring a Nike Air Max giveaway or The Rock. To do that, HQ needs to find ways to get more people hooked, and integrating social features is a smart way to do that.