(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.