Wordle, where players try to guess a five-letter word, has been acquired by The New York Times. The acquisition, announced by The Times on Monday, will support the company’s goal of increasing digital subscriptions to 10 million by 2025.
The Times announced the acquisition of Wordle from Brooklyn-based Software Engineer and creator Josh Wardle “at a low seven-figure price.” The company said the game would initially remain free for existing players.
Announced in October and released in November, the game initially had a small audience, but that number reached 300,000 by the middle of this month. According to the Times’ statements, millions of people now play the game every day.
The following words were included in the company statement;
“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 Times sells subscriptions to its print newspaper and essential digital news app. At lower prices, it also offers subscriptions to a gaming app, a recipe app, and Wirecutter, a product recommendation site that The Times acquired in 2016 as of last year. The Times spent $550 million this month on sports news site The Athletic and the 1.2 million subscribers it brought with it.
