Viral word game Wordle purchased by NYT for ‘low-7 figures’

polygon.com:

Viral word game Wordle is now part of The New York Times. Wordle creator Josh Wardle announced Monday that the media company’s games section will take over the game. Wordle will eventually move to the New York Times site, where it will be free-to-play for all players. Wardle said he’s trying to make sure players’ wins and win streaks move over to the new platform. (Thank you, Josh.)

“Since launching Wordle, I’ve been in awe of the response and the game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined,” Wardle wrote on Twitter. “On the flip side, it has been a little overwhelming. I am just one person, and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone.”

An update on Wordle pic.twitter.com/TmHd0AIRLX

The New York Times said Wordle was purchased for “an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures.” Wordle has “millions” of players each day, the New York Times said.

No changes are expected to be made to Wordle’s gameplay. Polygon has reached out for clarification regarding a potential future move to the Crosswords subscription paywall, per a note in a New York Times story that Wordle will “initially” be free to play. A NYT Crosswords subscription costs $5 per month or $40 a year.

“If you’re like me, you probably wake up every morning thinking about Wordle, and savoring those precious moments of discovery, surprise and accomplishment. The game has done what so few games have done: It has captured our collective imagination, and brought us all a little closer together,” New York Times Games general manager Jonathan Knight said in a statement.

Wordle was created last year, but really took off around Christmas. The game is very simple: You need to guess a five-letter word, and you have