In the journalism and publishing communities (where Wordle is, unsurprisingly, very popular), some commenters also highlighted the contrast between Wordle’s payout and the Times‘ ongoing battle with unionized workers. become ungovernable /6GNYk1yHg3- rayne fisher-quann February 1, 2022 If nyt takes wordle away from us remember that all you need to access it for free is the power of imagination and one friend who also likes wordle. On Twitter, the home of Wordle fandom, the prevailing opinion is happiness for Josh Wardle, coupled with frustration at the circumstances of Wordle’s sale. Ominously, the Times stated that Wordle would remain “initially” free, suggesting that it would eventually be paywalled. Reportedly sold for a price “in the low seven figures,” Wordle was acquired as part of the Times‘ push for more digital subscribers. So when the news broke on Monday that Wordle had been sold to the New York Times, fans were immediately concerned. It felt like a breath of fresh air in the current internet landscape, which is why so many people were pissed when someone tried to sell a Wordle copycat on the App Store. No addictive gameplay, because Wordle is just a website offering one new puzzle every 24 hours. There’s no app, which means no in-app purchases.

Created by software engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle’s viral success was a total accident. But after a month of unprecedented popularity, Wordle has been acquired by the New York Times, inspiring suspicion among its fanbase.Īlong with being an innovative new challenge for puzzleheads, people were charmed by Wordle’s format and backstory. The puzzle game Wordle was a runaway hit this January, combining the logic of Sudoku with the vocab skills of Scrabble.

New york times wirecutter moves behind