We’ve learned the New York Times is buying popular Wordle game for an undisclosed price “in the low seven figures,” both parties announced this week.

Despite only just releasing back in October 2021 by sole developer Josh Wardle, after a couple months the word-guessing game had over 300,000 players. More recently, it got even more popular and currently has millions of daily players – hence the Twitter memes and other social media posts of player’s word boards.

The NYT notes this new acquisition is part of their ongoing digital subscription ambitions, of which they currently have over a million Games subscriptions and their games have been played over 500 million times in 2021. Despite initial concerns that the new acquisition would mean Wordle will soon no longer be free, its developer confirmed that’s not happening.

Here’s the word from Wardle:

An update on Wordle

Since launching Wordle, I’ve been in awe of the response from everyone that has played. The game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined (which I suppose isn’t that much of a feat given I made the game for an audience of 1).
It has been incredible to watch a game bring so much joy to so many, and I feel so grateful for the personal stories some of you have shared with me -from Wordle uniting distant family members, to provoking friendly rivalries, to supporting medical recoveries.

On the flip side, I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t been a little overwhelming. After all, tarn just one person, and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone.

Given this, I am incredibly pleased to announce that I’ve reached an agreement with The New York Tares for them to take over running Wordle going forward. If you’ve followed along with the story of Wordle, you’ll know that NYT games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me

I’ve long admired the NYT’s approach to their games and the respect with which they treat their players. Their values are aligned with mine on these matters and I’m thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward.
When the game moves to the NYT site, it will be free to play for everyone, and I am working with them to make sure your wins and streaks will be preserved.

Thank you all for playing and making Wordle an unforgettable experience.

Josh

For those who haven’t played the game, Wordle is a browser-based word-guessing game where you get six tries to guess a five-letter word. Each attempt will show you what you got right and wrong.

Any correct letters in the proper placement will turn green, correct letters in improper placements turn yellow, and a total miss will stay the original grey color. After six failed attempts, the game will reveal the word to you. If you successfully guess the word, you’re then prompted to brag about it on social media.

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