The New York Times bought ‘Wordle’, the successful word game that has swept the networks, for at least a million dollars, the newspaper announced today in a statement. According to the outlet, which has been placing increasing importance on crossword puzzles and other forms of entertainment to reach its goal of reaching 10 million subscribers by 2025, the price of ‘Wordle’ has reached 7 figures, although it remains in the “fringe lower” than that amount. It is understood, therefore, that he has paid at least one million dollars, but the price could be substantially higher.
Wordle, which the Times says will initially remain free, was acquired from its creator, Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn software engineer. The game, in which a five-letter word must be guessed in a maximum of six attempts and which works in several languages (also in Spanish), has become a resounding success in less than three months, after Wardle launched it on a website last October after seeing how popular he was with his family. According to figures from the New York Times, on November 1st ‘Wordle’ had 90 users, by January 2nd it already had more than 300,000, and today there are millions of people who play daily. The user must guess a five-letter word, and in each of the attempts the game turns green the letters that are in the correct place, and yellow those that are part of the word but are in the wrong place.
“The Times remains focused on becoming an essential subscription for all English-speakers who want to understand and participate in the world,” the company said in a statement. “The New York Times Gaming department is a key part of that strategy,” she added. In November, the New York newspaper, considered one of the most influential in the world, stated in its results report that has about 8.4 million subscribers.