The offline dino game feels like it has always existed, but it was designed by a small group on Google's Chrome team in 2014.
The three creators
The game is credited to Sebastien Gabriel, Alan Bettes, and Edward Jung. Gabriel designed the runner itself — the pixel Tyrannosaurus he nicknamed the "Lonely T-Rex."
Why they built it
The team wanted to turn a frustrating moment — losing your connection — into something playful. The dinosaur is a joke: being offline is like living in the "prehistoric ages." The result was a tiny endless runner tucked onto Chrome's error page.
By 2018, Google estimated the game was played around 270 million times a month — not bad for a side project meant to fill a blank error screen.
For the full timeline, including the "Project Bolan" codename and the special editions, read our history of the dino game. Or just go play it.