BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Wordle bought by The New York Times Company for ‘low-seven figures’

Wordle, a simple word game, is taking the Internet by storm. (Nexstar)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NEXSTAR) – Wordle, a simple game that has gone viral in recent weeks, has been acquired for “an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures” by The New York Times Company, according to a Monday announcement.

If you used to watch Lingo on the Game Show Network, then Wordle will seem largely familiar. Created by Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn software engineer, Wordle is a free online game that challenges players each day to identify a five-letter word in six tries or less.

In early November, around 90 people were playing Wordle, according to The Times. Now, almost two months later, millions are playing the game daily.

“If you’ve followed along with the story of Wordle, you’ll know that New York Times Games play a big part in its origins, and so this step feels very natural to me,” Wardle said in the announcement of the acquisition.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4, Wardle revealed that he programmed the game to accept more than 12,000 possible guesses (based on the number of five-letter words in the dictionary), but only about 2,500 of those words are included in the game’s pool of randomized acceptable solutions. More specifically, the game’s source code indicates that there are 12,972 acceptable guesses, but only 2,315 solutions, according to online analysts.

For now, Wordle will remain free to play, and gameplay will not change, The Times noted.

The Times already offers a wide variety of games, from its well-known crossword to Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, and Vertex.

“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,” the company said.

Michael Bartiromo contributed to this report.

U.S.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Mostly Cloudy

la

59°F Mostly Cloudy Feels like 58°
Wind
7 mph WSW
Humidity
79%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
50°F Cloudy. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
3 mph N
Precip
9%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent