HQ Words, the new Wheel of Fortune-style game from HQ, launched out of beta last night with a debut round hosted by the company’s CEO Rus Yusupov, reports TechCrunch. Unlike the company’s first game, which has players answer 10 multiple-choice questions to win a share of the prize money, HQ Words tasks them with guessing popular phrases one letter at a time.

The launch of HQ Words comes at a crucial time for the company, which in recent months has been faced with declining player numbers and the premature death of its CEO Colin Kroll. After peaking as the App Store’s second most downloaded app back in February 2018, HQ Trivia dropped to 253rd most popular in November, and in December the company suspended its service in the UK. Words was originally due to launch in October.

Like HQ Trivia, Words is played live alongside tens of thousands of other players. At the moment, it’s scheduled to take place each evening at 9:30PM ET / 6:30PM PT from the (now renamed on iOS) HQ – Trivia & Words app, right after the conclusion of the evening’s main game. Advertisers were originally drawn to HQ Trivia for its huge user base, and now HQ is hoping that Words will keep those users engaged for longer periods of time.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/24/18154788/hq-words-trivia-wheel-of-fortune-new-game