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Library/Game/2048
Grade B19 sourcesHIS-00848

2048

Game · 2014 · Notable

47Editable slideCertificate

Cirulli’s weekend browser game drew over 50,000 simultaneous players, he reported.

2048 winning board, April 2014; MIT licence
Gabriele Cirulli / Wikimedia Commons; MIT licence
2048
Gabriele Cirulli
'2048' Is the Next Mobile Game to Eat Up Your Time
ABC News
Professors React to 2048 — Numberphile
Numberphile
2048: How the Viral Puzzle Became a Full-Time Passion
Hey Good Game
How one 19 year old won the internet with addictive puzzler 2048
City A.M.

Spread Score

How it works
Reach37Contagion65Breadth80Velocity0LongevityNo data yet47

Numbers

Peak concurrent players reported in launch week
50K
As of Mar 17, 2014 · Open web · Self-reported · City A.M.
Peak date
Apr 2014
Mar 9 ’14 to Apr 2014
Platforms
5
Started on Open web
Origin
Seeded
Gaming

Mechanics

  • Maker origin
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Controversy
  • Dupe economyPrimary

Ingredients

Every clone kept the grid and the score race. What sat on the tiles was free to change.

OriginalOriginal

Clones as they look on 19 Oct 2026

How it spread

Trace the origin

Cirulli published a free browser puzzle and Hacker News users shared it. Players posted on Twitter, while developers remixed its open code. Copies entered app stores and Threes’ creators objected. Google’s monthly search chart peaked in April.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesOct ’13Apr ’14JunApr ’16Feb ’18Dec ’19Oct ’21Jan ’23NovDec ’24PeakOpen webXPressApp storesYouTube
Open webXPressApp storesYouTube

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. March 2014

    Gabriele Cirulli seed · Mar 9 ’14

    Cirulli released his free browser puzzle, which merged matching numbered tiles.[1][2][3][4]

    2048
    Open the first post ↗

  2. frederfred / Hacker News platform jump · Mar 10 ’14

    frederfred shared 2048 on Hacker News after Cirulli’s Designer News feedback post, the creator later recalled.[5][18]

  3. Gabriele Cirulli owner response · Mar 12 ’14

    Cirulli reported that 28,000 people were playing simultaneously.[6]

Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Revised 1 event
  2. 2026-10-15Added: 16 events, 19 sources · Score 47
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Gaming
Region
IT
Peak concurrent players reported in launch week
50K
As of Mar 17, 2014 · Open web · Self-reported · City A.M.
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

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The guided workout screen in Stuart Hall's derivative app.

$10K revenue

Phasmophobia

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70
Phasmophobia on Steam

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Lethal Company

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65
Lethal Company on Steam

$5.7M revenue

Locket Widget

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52
Official Locket graphic showing friends’ photos inside the home-screen widget

10M downloads a month

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Wikipedia views · Google searchesOct ’13Apr ’14JunApr ’16Feb ’18Dec ’19Oct ’21Jan ’23NovDec ’24PeakOpen webXPressApp storesYouTube
Open webXPressApp storesYouTube

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. March 2014

    Gabriele Cirulli seed · Mar 9 ’14

    Cirulli released his free browser puzzle, which merged matching numbered tiles.[1][2][3][4]

    2048
    Open the first post ↗

  2. frederfred / Hacker News platform jump · Mar 10 ’14

    frederfred shared 2048 on Hacker News after Cirulli’s Designer News feedback post, the creator later recalled.[5][18]

  3. Gabriele Cirulli owner response · Mar 12 ’14

    Cirulli reported that 28,000 people were playing simultaneously.[6]

  1. press · Mar 17 ’14

  2. platform jump · Mar 24 ’14

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
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  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 8 sourced numbers and 19 sources. Start with a free account.

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