New York Times buys viral word game ‘Wordle’, people concerned if it will still remain free
The New York Times (NYT) has purchased the popular word game ‘Wordle’. The Times reported that Wordle was purchased for “in the low seven figures” from its founder, Josh Wardle. According to the company, new and existing users will be able to play the game for free at first.
Josh Wardle took to Twitter to announce the deal.
“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. 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,” Wardle wrote on Twitter.
An update on Wordle pic.twitter.com/TmHd0AIRLX
— Josh Wardle (@powerlanguish) January 31, 2022
People are concerned whether the game will remain free for the users:
NYT buying Wordle is just an extension of today’s world where we can’t imagine a free good available to everyone, it has to be owned by someone & made available to few. A person created the game out of love for his wife & didn’t mind sharing because that’s what love is
— Jasir Shahbaz (@LahoreMarquez) February 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/shailinthomas/status/1488340943178801158wordle 227 3/6
— Aahil 🩷🇵🇰 (@aahilsm) January 31, 2022
⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️
You’ve reached your limit of free articles.
Special offer:
Get unlimited access for $1 a week.
"At the time it moves to The New York Times, Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay."
— rachel (@recitrachel) January 31, 2022
and yet im still suspicious
Wordle has caught the attention of Pakistani Twitter for a while now. Miftah Ismail is among the many politicians who regularly shares his Wordle score on Twitter.
More recently, former wife of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, shared her Wordle score on Twitter but the replies to her tweet were not related to the game.
Every tweet. For the rest of my life. 😂😂😂 https://t.co/dddSQOIT7n
— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) January 25, 2022