The 'New York Times' just bought Wordle because nothing is sacred

In a move that, you may or may not have seen coming, the New York Times Company has purchased Wordle, an inescapable and beloved (or loathed) word game. According to an announcement on Monday, the price was, “in the low seven figures,” and the game’s creator, Brooklyn software engineer, Josh Wardle, announced that he was pleased with the sale.

“If you’ve followed along with the story of World, you’ll know that NYT games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me,” he wrote in a tweet. Earlier this month, Wardle told a Times reporter that he started Wordle for his partner who got really into word puzzles during the pandemic.

Not Paywordled (yet)— Though the New York Times paywalls its Puzzles content, it says the game will, “initially remain free to new and existing players.” Some Wordle enthusiasts might be disappointed that the clean, ad-free Wordle website will be changing, but exact clones are available online, including variations like Sweardle, Hello Wordl, Lewdle, and of course, Queerdle. So, the days of the classic, no-frills Wordle may be numbered, but the game lives on at the The New York T-I-M-E-S as well as other web P-A-G-E-S.