Wordle is sold to The New York Times; game will remain free to play "initially"

The most popular online word game at the moment, Wordle, has been sold to The New York Times. The game, available to be played once a day, will initially remain free to players. A tweet sent by Wordle creator Josh Wardle says, "...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."

He adds that "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." The sale was made, according to The New York Times, at an undisclosed price in the low seven figures.

The Times's coverage of the sale left an opening for the paper to charge for the game in the future as it wrote that initially, Wordle will remain free to players. In addition, the newspaper said that the purchase "reflects the growing importance of games, like crosswords and Spelling Bee, in the company's quest to increase digital subscriptions to 10 million by 2025.

An update on Wordle pic.twitter.com/TmHd0AIRLX

— Josh Wardle (@powerlanguish) January 31, 2022

Wordle, which gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word using strategy and vocabulary skills, had 90 players on November 1st, rising to 300,000 by the middle of January, and now millions play the game daily. The game's popularity took off when a feature was added that allows players to share with friends, family, and other players, how many tries it took them to guess the right word with that day's edition of the game.

To play, use the Google search app and type in Wordle; click on the link that pops up. To start the game, type in a five-letter word and press enter. A letter that has a green background is the correct letter in the correct spot. A letter with a yellow background is part of the word but is in the wrong spot. And a letter with a grayed-out background is not in the word.

In a statement, the newspaper wrote, "The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world. New York Times Games are a key part of that strategy."