San Francisco, Feb 1 Wordle, the popular puzzle game that has taken social media by storm, has been purchased by The New York Times Company, for an undisclosed price in the "low-seven figures".
Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players for the time being, and no changes will be made to its gameplay as it moves to The NYT.
"As The Times looks to entertain more solvers with puzzles every day especially during these anxious times we're thrilled to announce that we've acquired Wordle, the stimulating and wildly popular daily word game that has become a cultural phenomenon," The New York Times Company said in a statement late on Monday.
"Wordle, which gives players six tries to guess a five-letter mystery word, will join New York Times Games's portfolio of original, engaging puzzle games that delight and challenge solvers every day."
The game was launched by software engineer Josh Wardle in October 2021.
The browser-based game had just 90 daily players on November 1 last year. It has now crossed 3 lakh daily players, and is fast growing via various social media platforms.
Wordle is like a crossword and can only be played once a day.
Every 24 hours there's a new word of the day, and it's up to you to figure it out.
Wordle gives players six chances to guess a randomly selected five-letter word.
If you have the right letter in the right spot, it shows up green. A correct letter in the wrong spot shows up yellow. A letter that isn't in the word in any spot shows up gray. You can enter a total of six words.
"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," Wardle posted in a tweet.
"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. When the game moves to the NYT site, it will be free to play for everyone, and I am working with them to make sure your wins and streaks will be preserved," he added.
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