Wordle, the viral word game, was bought by The New York Times

New York Times announced this Monday that he bought the popular word game Wordle for a sum of not less than a million dollars, although the figure was not revealed.

The development, simple and free, was created by software engineer Josh Wardle, went on sale last October and already has millions of players.

Wardle said the game’s success had been “a bit overwhelming,” and that he was “incredibly pleased” to announce the deal with The New York Times. The developer announced the deal in a statement posted on Twitter, saying it has long admired “the NYT’s approach to their games and the respect with which they treat their players.”

In principle, the publisher of the newspaper said that the game would initially be free. “The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for any English-speaker seeking to understand and engage with the world. The New York Times games are a key part of that strategy.”, they indicated.

And they added: “Our games already deliver high-quality, original content and experiences every day. Wordle will now be part of that daily experience, giving millions more people around the world another reason to turn to The Times for their daily news and life needs.”.

The game, which can last just a few minutes, challenges players to find a five-letter word in six tries. A new puzzle is posted every day and players can post on social media how quickly they solved the colorful grid, but in a way that doesn’t spoil the answer for those still playing, which is why, according to Wardle , has managed to capture the imagination of so many users.

If any of the letters are in the word for that day but in the wrong place, it turns to gold. If they are in the word in the right place, they turn green. If they are not in the word, they turn gray.

In January, Wardle, who designed games for the Reddit social media platform, told the show Today from the BBC that he had devised a prototype of the game in 2013, but that his friends had not been enthusiastic about it.

Wardle said that during the pandemic he became fond of the crossword puzzles and spelling games of the New York Times and maintained that they played a “great part” in Wordle’s origins. “This step feels very natural,” he said.

“Last year, my partner and I got into crossword puzzles and word games, and I wanted a game that we could play every morning as part of our routine”he explained. This time, he shared it with his family on WhatsApp before opening it to the public, and the result was a complete success.

When asked if he intended to make any money from it, he said: “I don’t understand why something can’t just be fun. I don’t have to charge people money for this and ideally I’d like to keep it that way.”.