What started out as a love story eventually morphed into a seven-figure-plus product. Wordle has caught on with people, and millions of people log in every day to figure out that elusive five-letter word. Not taking advantage of the popularity that the game has generated would be foolish, and likewise, Wordle now passes into the hands of the New York Times for a price that ‘slightly exceeds seven figures’.
Josh Wardle, its creator, commented on the play through a public letter on Twitter, in addition to the corresponding article of its acquisition in the New York Times. Although it has been an agreement that has benefited both parties, history would be different if a few weeks ago its creator did not ensure that ‘Wordle would never sell’.
A game accessed by millions of users daily
Wordle becomes part of the catalog of games offered by the New York Times, accompanying ‘The Crossword’, ‘Spelling Bee’, ‘Sudoku’, or ‘The Mini’, among others. Although from the middle they have assured that the game will remain free for new and existing players, they have indeed pointed out the importance of games within their strategy of continuing to amass subscribers. And it is that the New York Times aims to reach 10 million by 2025.
The game that started with 90 users on November 1, has become an international landmark, causing millions of users to spend a few minutes a day solving the word. In addition, unofficial copies, as well as really fun variants, have not been slow to appear.
In the letter written by Josh Wardle, he recalls that the New York Times played a ‘big role’ in creating his hobbies, acknowledging that his game is inspired by ‘Spelling Bee’, one of the games offered by the Times to its subscribers. Wardle ‘admires’ the newspaper’s approach to its games and its treatment of players, assuring that ‘its values are aligned with theirs’.
The Spanish Wordle also takes an unexpected turn
Daniel Rodríguez, the developer who adapted Wordle to Spanish, assured just a few days ago that maintaining Wordle ‘didn’t cost him much’, and that he had simply done it ‘so that people would have fun for a while’. Among his plans was not to make money with Wordle, and it has been that way until the web has begun to show advertising to its players. But nevertheless, advertising is optional, so we can disable it through a switch that is located in the game settings themselves.