The New York Times Acquires Popular World Puzzle Game Wordle

Wordle, the browser game that makes all your Twitter friends post strange colored blocks to your feed, has been purchased by The New York Times.

NYT announced the deal Monday, saying they paid Wordle creator Josh Wardle, a software engineer, in the “low seven figures” for the rights to his game.

NYT also says the popular word game will remain “initially” free to new and existing players, suggesting it may become a part of the newspaper’s subscription plan in the future.

Wordle is a puzzle game that asks players to correctly guess a five-letter word. Each failed guess potentially offers new clues as to what the true answer is using a color-coded block system. “New York Times Games play a big part in its origins,” Wardle said in the company’s statement, “and so this step feels very natural to me.”

Wardle previously told an NYT reporter that he and his partner got into word games like the NYT crossword and Spelling Bee during the COVID pandemic.

Wordle was originally published in October 2021, sporting 90 users on November 1. Millions now play the game, and numerous clones appeared on the iOS and Android app stores looking to ride its coattails.

“The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world,” a statement from the company reads. “New York Times Games are a key part of that strategy.”

You can check out IGN’s Wordle wiki for tips on how to play more effectively.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.