New York Times Company, one of the most prominent news publishers in the US has bought the latest game sensation Wordle.
The news publication company has agreed to buy the daily word game Wordle, which has become an overnight sensation. This move is its first step to boost its products and hit its goal of 10 million digital subscribers by 2025.
The game was developed by Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn software engineer. He created it as a gift for his girlfriend. He made it public in October 2021, and by December, became a viral sensation.
He sold the game to the New York Times for the price of low seven figures.
By early January, almost 2 million people played the game. Its popularity spun off many clones, with some even using its name. Including English, it supports 42 languages, with different colour modes for the gamers.
Recently the New York Times Company have built the world’s largest online subscriber base for news through their app and website. The main attraction that boosted their subscription rates is its cooking and games products.
In December, the company’s gaming app hit 1 million subscribers. When this game is added, it will not be the only word game in the app, which also has crossword puzzles and Spelling Bee.
The attraction of the game is its simplicity. Each day the player has to guess a five-letter word and have six chances to do it. The new puzzle is refreshed every morning, with the website offering it for free and has no advertisements.
The Times has assured that the game will remain free even after it comes under them. The other factor that makes the game attractive is the scorecards. Its coloured scorecard can be shared through social media.
The game cashes in on the curiosity of the human mind, which is rewarded every day by sending new puzzles every morning. Each day the game offers words from a randomly ordered list of 2,315 words.
This is the second acquisition by the company after it has purchased Athletic, the lossmaking sports website for $550 million earlier this month. It has subscribers of 1.2 million. This was the company’s biggest purchase in almost three decades.
That is the result of chief executive Meredith Kopit Levien target to hit the 10 million subscriber goal. By the end of the third quarter, they reported 8.3 million subscribers.
They aim to become the primary medium for an English speaker to understand and engage with the world.
As proved by their own experience, the games offered by their app is a key part of their strategy.
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