<s>
Houseparty	B-Application
was	O
a	O
social	O
networking	O
service	O
that	O
enabled	O
group	O
video	O
chatting	O
through	O
mobile	B-Application
and	O
desktop	B-Application
apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
received	O
a	O
notification	O
when	O
friends	O
are	O
online	O
and	O
available	O
to	O
group	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
launched	O
by	O
Life	O
on	O
Air	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
in	O
2016	O
and	O
was	O
available	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
mobile	I-Application
devices	O
,	O
macOS	B-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epic	O
Games	O
announced	O
the	O
decision	O
to	O
discontinue	O
Houseparty	B-Application
on	O
September	O
9th	O
,	O
2021	O
and	O
removed	O
it	O
from	O
the	O
app	B-Application
stores	I-Application
on	O
the	O
same	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2015	O
,	O
Life	O
On	O
Air	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
a	O
team	O
headed	O
by	O
founder	O
and	O
CEO	O
Ben	B-Application
Rubin	I-Application
,	O
released	O
the	O
live	O
streaming	O
app	O
Meerkat	B-Application
and	O
raised	O
$12	O
million	O
in	O
venture	O
capital	O
funding	O
from	O
Greylock	O
Partners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
creators	O
began	O
developing	O
a	O
new	O
app	O
called	O
Houseparty	B-Application
that	O
moved	O
"	O
away	O
from	O
public	O
broadcasts	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
private	O
chats.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Houseparty	B-Application
was	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
and	O
Play	B-Application
Store	I-Application
in	O
February	O
2016	O
under	O
a	O
pseudonym	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
over	O
10	O
months	O
with	O
a	O
website	O
redirecting	O
to	O
the	O
Houseparty	B-Application
app	O
in	O
October	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
available	O
on	O
macOS	B-Application
as	O
of	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Co-founder	O
Sistani	O
was	O
announced	O
as	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
chief	O
executive	O
officer	O
in	O
March	O
2019	O
and	O
led	O
the	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Houseparty	B-Application
by	O
Epic	O
Games	O
later	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sistani	O
noted	O
that	O
Houseparty	B-Application
was	O
being	O
used	O
by	O
Fortnite	B-Application
players	O
,	O
so	O
"	O
the	O
partnership	O
made	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
sense.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
Houseparty	B-Application
announced	O
"	O
In	O
The	O
House	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
three-day	O
festival	O
with	O
live	O
at-home	O
performances	O
by	O
celebrities	O
such	O
as	O
Alicia	O
Keys	O
,	O
Neil	O
Patrick	O
Harris	O
,	O
Zooey	O
Deschanel	O
and	O
Terry	O
Crews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
9	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
Epic	O
Games	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
planning	O
to	O
shut	O
down	O
the	O
Houseparty	B-Application
service	O
in	O
October	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
having	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
app	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
delisted	O
immediately	O
from	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
stores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
main	O
video	O
chatting	O
service	O
and	O
the	O
app	O
's	O
"	O
Fortnite	B-Application
Mode	O
"	O
which	O
integrated	O
the	O
app	O
's	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
into	O
Fortnite	B-Application
Battle	I-Application
Royale	I-Application
which	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
November	O
2020	O
,	O
were	O
to	O
function	O
as	O
usual	O
until	O
the	O
service	O
's	O
discontinuation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Houseparty	B-Application
is	O
a	O
"	O
face-to-face	O
social	O
network	O
"	O
where	O
up	O
to	O
eight	O
participants	O
can	O
interact	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
session	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
receive	O
a	O
notification	O
when	O
friends	O
are	O
online	O
and	O
available	O
to	O
group	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
or	O
float	O
between	O
chat	O
rooms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
2020	O
,	O
Houseparty	B-Application
partnered	O
with	O
Mattel	O
to	O
add	O
Magic	O
8-Ball	O
and	O
the	O
card	O
game	O
,	O
Uno	O
to	O
the	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
contains	O
other	O
popular	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Quick	O
Draw	O
,	O
Chips	O
&	O
Guac	O
and	O
trivia	O
games	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
with	O
friends	O
in	O
a	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
media	O
outlets	O
reported	O
that	O
Houseparty	B-Application
had	O
been	O
hacked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Fast	O
Company	O
,	O
the	O
app	O
ranked	O
first	O
in	O
Social	O
Networking	O
on	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
with	O
50	O
million	O
downloads	O
through	O
April	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
