The New York Times purchase of the word puzzle phenomenon Wordle looks to be causing a bit more controversy today as players discover that the daily word has been changed from the game's original version. The revered news outlet and publisher of one of the world's most popular crossword periodicals bought the live-service puzzle game from its independent creator just a few weeks ago, but this transaction has already elicited some concern from fans of the game.
Wordle broke onto the casual gaming scene in late 2021 and was a success almost overnight. The game's simplicity and humble beginnings gave it a sense of charm, and it of course didn't hurt that the brain-teaser-style puzzle gameplay was extremely addictive for countless players. Unsurprisingly, larger organizations began to take note of the game's rising popularity, resulting in its ultimate purchase by the New York Times. While the game's creator, Josh Wardle, has made it clear that selling the game was his intention since the start, some fans are not fully sold on this merger. For one thing, the jury is still out on whether the Times will eventually lock Wordle behind a paywall, a prospect that is worrisome to many players. Additionally, the outlet has started to ban some of the less family-friendly words from the NYT version of the game. Initially, this censoring was believed to only apply to guesses that players could submit, but it seems like that is not the case.
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As The Verge reports, the New York Times has begun to change a handful of solutions from its version of Wordle, meaning that anyone still playing the original Josh Wardle version will now be out of sync with the rest of the
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