The New York Times stated today that it had paid a low-seven figure for the popular web-based game “Wordle.” Wordle, which was created by Josh Wardle, has garnered millions of users in recent months and has become well-known on the internet due to its simple score sharing capabilities and uncomplicated gameplay.
Wardle told TechCrunch in January that “part of the idea” of Wordle was that it was free to play and that he had no plans to monetize it, but he also added it would be “foolish” not to meet with individuals interested in investing in Wordle in any way. also Apple altered the appearance of two-factor authentication SMS codes in order to improve security
According to the New York Times, Wordle will be free to play for new and existing users “at the moment it transfers” over to the NYT site, but there is no news on whether it will be commercialised and locked behind a paywall afterwards. According to a New York Times piece, “the game would initially stay free to new and current users,” thus the “initially” could imply future changes.
Wardle stated in a letter announcing the acquisition that he is working with The New York Times to guarantee that wins and streaks are maintained during the transfer.
Wordle made news in early January because, as its popularity grew, numerous app developers sought to capitalise on it by creating clone apps in the App Store. Wordle has always been a web-based browser game, and there is no official app for iOS devices, thus these clone applications profit on the Wordle concept by charging consumers money.
Apple eventually chose to remove any Wordle clones that utilised the Wordle name from the App Store, and no more Wordle clones have been launched for sale on Apple’s platform to date. With The New York Times now owning Wordle, we may see an official Wordle app in the future, since the NYT already has an app for its crossword puzzles.