New York Times acquires Wordle

The New York Times has acquired the worldwide sensation word puzzle game Wordle, creator Josh Wardle announced on Twitter on Monday. 

“Since launching Wordle, I’ve been in awe of the response from everyone that has played,” Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, wrote in the statement. “The game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined (which I suppose isn’t that much of a feat given I made the game for an audience of 1).”

Wardle added that the game, released in October 2021, has become “overwhelming” after an explosion in popularity led to its rapid growth and development. 

On Nov. 1, 2021, only 90 people played the game before the surge in popularity took that number to 300,000 players just two months later, according to the New York Times. Today, the puzzle game reportedly has millions of daily players. 

“On the flip side, I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t been a little overwhelming,” Wardle said. “After all, I am just one person, and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone.”

“Given this, i am incredibly pleased to announce that I’ve reached an agreement with The New York Times for them to take over running wordle going forward,” he continued. “If you’ve followed along with the story of Wordle, you’ll know that NYT Games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me.”

Wordle was reportedly bought for an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures, according to The Times. 

“Our games already provide original, high-quality content and experiences every single day,” The Times wrote. “Wordle will now play a part in that daily experience, giving millions more people around the world another reason to turn to The Times to meet their daily news and life needs.”