New York Times buys Wordle for seven-figure sum, with puzzle phenomenon staying free-to-play

Popular puzzle game Wordle has joined The New York Times special gaming subscription. The exact amount of the deal remains undisclosed but it is “in the low-seven figures.”

The famous newspaper announced the acquisition on its official website. According to the NYT, it is a part of its ambitions of “becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world.”

Games are one of the key elements of this strategy. The newspaper’s subscription already offers a crossword, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, and Vertex, which were played over 500 million times last year.

And now Worlde, where a player has six tries to guess a five-letter word, will join the list. The New York Times thinks the title will help it reach a new audience through the Games subscription, which already has one million subscribers.

“I’ve long admired The Times’s approach to the quality of their games and the respect with which they treat their players,” Wordle creator Josh Wardle said. “Their values are aligned with mine on these matters and I’m thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward.”

Wordle will remain free for all the new and existing players, with no changes announced to its gameplay.

Over the last month, the game became an internet phenomenon, leading to dozens of mobile clones being released on the App Store. According to the NYT, Wordle reached 1 million DAU.