This illustration shows a person playing the online word game “Wordle” on a mobile phone in Washington, DC on January 11, 2022.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | beautiful pictures
The New York Times buying back WordleAn online game that became popular seemingly overnight.
The move underscores the importance of the company’s Games unit, which hosts things like crosswords and Spelling Bee, as a way to attract new subscribers.
“The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English speaker who wants to understand and interact with the world. The New York Times Games is an important part of that strategy,” the company said. said in a release. As of the end of Q3, the company had around 980,000 Game subscriptions.
Founded by software engineer Josh Wardle in October 2021, Wordle offers players 6 attempts to guess a 5-letter mystery word per day. The game became a cultural phenomenon earlier this month, with people sharing their scores in the form of emojis. Only 90 people played the game on November 1, according to the Times. About 300,000 people were playing as of mid-January. The number is now in the millions.
In a press release, The Times said it had acquired Wordle for a lower seven-figure price. The company says Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players. It added that there will be no changes to its gameplay.
In a statement posted on social media, Wardle added that he is working with the company to ensure user wins and streak are preserved.
– Alex Sherman of CNBC contributed to this report.
