To drive the growth of its digital subscriptions, The New York Times the popular online word game Wordle purchased from its creator, Josh Wardle. The newspaper publisher claims to have paid a million or several million dollars for it, an amount “in the low seven figures”.
In a short time wordle, which was launched in October, has attracted millions of players every day, the newspaper said. Since December, players can easily share their results via Facebook or Twitter, which quickly made the puzzle widely known.
In the simple game, reminiscent of Lingo, the player has to guess a five-letter word in six attempts. Each player can only play one game per day. The name is a word-playing variation on the name of the creator, who already made a prototype in 2013 and refreshed it during the lockdown for an audience of exactly one person: his girlfriend.
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„Wordle is a love story”, therefore ran the headline in The New York Times at the beginning of January a piece about the origin of the game. After it also caught on in the family app group, Wardle decided to make it available to everyone online.
When Wordle will move from its own website to the Times site and mobile app is not yet clear. For now, the puzzle will remain free.
Daily Crossword Puzzle
Traditionally, the daily crossword puzzle has been an important part of The New York Times for many readers. Since acquiring digital subscriptions has become a strategic spearhead of the company, puzzles and games also play an important role.
In addition to subscriptions to the paper newspapers and the online version, The New York Times also offers separate subscriptions for apps for games, cooking and consumer information. Last month it bought for 550 million dollars additionally The Athletic, a sports news website.
On Twitter, Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn-based software developer, wrote that the game’s success has been “a bit overwhelming” for him and that he’s glad the Times is taking it further. “I admire the NYT’s approach to games and the respect with which they treat players. Their values are an extension of mine.”
Variations on the English Wordle have been made in dozens of languages. In the Netherlands: wordle.