Wordle, the wildly popular internet word puzzle that has the internet hooked, has been acquired by the New York Times for an "undisclosed price in the low seven figures."
The Times, which has popular word games like Spelling Bee and its crossword puzzle, said Wordle will continue to be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay.
The game, created by Josh Wardle, a British software engineer in the United States, was launched in 2021. The engineer had originally made Wordle for his partner Palak Shah, who loves word games.
"The game has done what so few games have done -- it has captured our collective imagination and brought us all a little closer together," said Jonathan Knight, general manager of New York Times Games, in a statement.
Wardle said the game has gotten bigger than he had imagined it to be.
“…I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t been a little overwhelming. After all, I am just one person, and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone,” he said in a statement.
“If you’ve followed along with the story of Wordle, you’ll know that NYT games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me.”
"Their values are aligned with mine on these matters and I'm thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward."
The addictive word-guessing game appears simple but has often proved tough for players.
Players are given six chances to guess the word of the day. After each guess, the colour of the tiles on the puzzle will change to show how close a player’s guess was to the word.
Read: What is Wordle and why has it caught the attention of everyone on Twitter?
A green tile indicates the letter is correct and in the correct position. A yellow tile means the letter is in the answer but not in the right spot, and a grey tile shows that the letter is incorrect.
Though Wordle gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word, does not have a mobile app and is only available on a web browser, the online game has quickly caught on, partly thanks to users' ability to share their scores in green, yellow and gray grids on social media.
According to The New York Times, the game, which was launched in October, had only 90 players in early November.
By early January, there were more than three lakh players, and now millions play it daily.
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