Yahoo Finance Wordle sells for 7 figures: Will it still be free?
Wordle, a daily word-solving game that has seen a meteoric rise in popularity on social media, has been bought by The New York Times for a price “in the low seven figures”.
The game, which allows players to guess a five-letter word once a day, was purchased from its creator Josh Wardle, a software engineer from Brooklyn, the publication announced on Monday.
Wordle launched on an ad-free website in October and gained more than 300,000 users in just two months.
Millions of people now play the game every day, The Times said said in a statement.
“The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every english-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world,” the company said.
“New York Times Games are a key part of that strategy.”
The NYT currently provides games including Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles and Vertex, which are behind a paywall. They were played more than 500 million times last year, The Times said.
How did Wordle become so popular?
A feature allowing users to share their performance on social media is said to have been integral to the game’s success.
Players can post a grid of colourful bricks indicating how close their guesses were to the correct word.
In a previous interview with NPR, Mr Wardle said he believes the Covid pandemic also played a part in Wordle’s popularity because it provided another avenue for friends and family to connect with each other.
Mr Wardle said in a statement on Twitter on Monday that the success has been “a little overwhelming”.
“The game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined,” he said.
“It’s 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.”
Mr Wardle initially created the game for his partner, who frequently played New York Times Games during the pandemic.
Will Wordle remain free?
In its statement, the NYT Company said "the game would initially remain free to new and existing players".
It is unclear if that will change in the future.
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