How the New York Times is expanding into puzzle games like Wordle
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Wordle was a delightful hit word game that took the puzzle gaming world by storm in October 2021. Made by a lone developer named James Wardle, Wordle was a rare sensation of gaming as millions of people played it and shared their scores globally on social media.
Then the New York Times Games bought it for “seven figures” from Wardle and turned it into a flagship game alongside crossword puzzles and other educational titles. Now the steward of Wordle and the New York Times Games business is Jonathan Knight, who has had a long career in games.
The world’s most respected newspaper seems like a funny company to be in the games business, but keeping readers engaged and happy on the New York Times web site is important, and nothing is more engaging than games. A new study found that Wordle is the most popular word game in America (44% of those surveyed play).
All told, the New York Times Games were played nearly four billion times in 2022 and it has tens of millions of players every day. Wordle superfans like Meghan Markle, Stanley Tucci and Jimmy Fallon regularly tout the game to their massive audiences.
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I talked to Knight about the business recently. Here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: It’s an interesting place you’ve wound up. How long have you been there?
Jonathan Knight: A little over two years. We’ve had a great couple of years. I’m excited and bullish on the opportunity. Games are an essential part of our
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