Mobile trivia game QuizUp relaunches as a social media network

As strange at is sounds, a mobile quiz game is evolving into a website.

QuizUp moves into a second generation for its mobile trivia game, and it will relaunch through a new app and website with a focus on social networking. The Reykjavik, Iceland-based Plain Vanilla Games was founded in 2013 and has raised $27.7 million in total funding. It aims to build social connections between its users, and it has shaped the new app to encourage the growth of topic-focused communities, adding cross-platform functionality between mobile and desktop. This should help the company grow engagement beyond its 33 million worldwide users and 7 million daily plays.

QuizUp is available for free on iOS and Android platforms, and the QuizUp.com website is open now.

This retooled QuizUp sees new design and functionality, including a follower model, a home feed, and a topics tab system that lets users navigate through more than 1,200 quiz topics and 600,000 questions. A home tab lets others follow player profiles and preferred quiz topics, and a new interface was designed around exploration and networking. The company hopes to build communities based on topics of interest from its pool of players through this relaunch.

“We’re the first mobile gaming app to put a huge emphasis on social interaction,” Thor Fridriksson, founder & CEO of QuizUp, said to GamesBeat in a statement. “The goal of the New QuizUp is to connect people through shared interests. QuizUp will always be a place that sparks friendly competition, but as it evolves it is also a place to meet new people and connect with users around the globe that have the same interests as you.”