Dinosaur Game

When a user attempts to navigate to a web page on Google Chrome while being offline, the browser notifies the user that they are not connected to the Internet, with an illustration of a pixelated Tyrannosaurus rex shown on the page. The game can then be launched either by pressing space or ↑ on desktop, or by tapping the dinosaur on Android or iOS mobile devices. Additionally, the game can be accessed by inputting chrome://dino or chrome://network-error/-106 into the Omnibox.

During the game, the dinosaur continuously moves from left to right across a black-and-white desert landscape, with the player attempting to avoid oncoming obstacles such as cacti and pterosaurs by jumping or ducking. Pressing space, ↑, or tapping the dinosaur on mobile devices will cause the dinosaur to jump. Pressing the ↓ key will either cause the dinosaur to duck or fall faster depending on if the button is pressed mid-air. As the game progresses, the speed of play gradually increases until the user hits an obstacle, prompting an instant game over.

The game was made by members of the Chrome UX team in 2014, which consisted of Sebastien Gabriel, Alan Bettes, and Edward Jung. Gabriel designed the player character, named the "Lonely T-Rex". During development, the game was given the codename "Project Bolan", in reference to Marc Bolan, the lead singer of the band T. Rex. The developers chose the dinosaur theme as a reference to the game's function, a joke that not having an internet connection is equivalent to living in the "prehistoric ages".

The game was released in September 2014. It initially did not work on older devices, so the code was updated and re-released in December of the same year.

In 2018, the creators said that approximately 270 million games were played monthly.

The Dinosaur Game is referenced in the "couch gag" opening segment of the season 34 premiere of The Simpsons, "Habeas Tortoise".