Wordle to Remain Initially Free, According to the Agreement
Jonathan Knight, general manager for The New York Times Games, confirmed the sale below. Josh Wardle was the brains behind Wordle and is a software engineer in Brooklyn who released the game to the public on October 2021. It can be played on your browser and is free, at least for now. The game exploded in popularity with millions of daily players, and The New York Times intends on capitalizing on this obsession. The publication states that the game will initially be free for players, at least for now, likely because it wants the player base to reach a massive figure. Wardle has provided the update on Wordle below, stating that players’ wins and streaks will be preserved.
— Josh Wardle (@powerlanguish) January 31, 2022 It cannot be estimated if monetizing Wordle in the future will decrease the player base, because someone else can simply replicate the idea and make it free-to-play for potentially millions. For the time being, The New York Times does not want things to run wild, but it does aim to grow digital subscriptions to 10 million by 2025. Acquiring something as popular as Wordle may do the trick, but it is too early to tell. News Source: The New York Times
