New York Times acquires Wordle: NPR
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The New York Times acquired Wordle, a simple word guessing game, for an undisclosed seven-figure price, the newspaper announced Monday.
The game, created by Josh Wardle, will initially continue to be free to play.
Wordle, released in October 2021, is an everyday word puzzle game that has grown in popularity, attracting millions of daily players within a few months.
To play the game, the player has six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Many users choose to share their results – a grid of green, yellow and black boxes – on social media.
Wardle, who named the game after his last name, released Wordle to the public in October 2021. He initially released Wordle to the public. created the game for his partnerwho he knows is a lover of word games.
On November 1, the game had 90 players. Nearly two months later, that number skyrocketed to 300,000, according to a publication from The Times.
“The game has become bigger than I ever imagined,” Wardle wrote in a statement above Twitter. “I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a bit overwhelming. After all, I’m just one person, and it’s important to me that, as Wordle grows, it will continue to provide a great experience for users. everyone.”
Wardle said he was happy to transfer power to Time, added that the news outlet’s own games influenced “Wordle’s story.”
In addition to the crossword, Times introduced its own selection of games in 2014: Crossword, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles and Vertex.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be the new home and proud curators of this wondrous game, and are honored to help bring Josh Wardle’s cherished work to more prizewinners in the coming years. next month,” said Jonathan Knight, general manager of games at the Times.