NEW YORK TIMES BUYS VIRAL GAME WORDLE FOR SEVEN-FIGURE SUM

Tue 01 February 2022:

Wordle, a five-letter, six-attempt puzzle, has been sold to the New York Times for a seven-figure sum, according to its developer. Josh Wardle is the Reddit engineer that built and launched this game in October.

As per Josh, the response had become “a little overwhelming.”

Earlier while speaking to The Guardian, he said, “It going viral doesn’t feel great, to be honest. I feel a sense of responsibility for the players. I feel I really owe it to them to keep things running and make sure everything’s working correctly.”

He further said that “it’s not my full-time job and I don’t want it to become a source of stress and anxiety in my life.”

The once-a-day online game gives a player six chances to figure out the day’s secret five-letter word, using the least number of guesses.

Since its debut, the online brain teaser has become an internet craze, attracting millions of users worldwide. Several people have been spotted publishing the game’s grid on their social media accounts.

Josh, in a statement, said, “It has been incredible to watch a game bring so much joy to so many, and I feel so grateful for the personal stories some of you have shared with me – from Wordle uniting distant family members, to provoking friendly rivalries, to supporting medical recoveries.”

An update on Wordle pic.twitter.com/TmHd0AIRLX

— Josh Wardle (@powerlanguish) January 31, 2022

Wordle was judged a fantastic puzzle by the crossword editor of the New York Times. “It doesn’t take long to play, which makes it perfect for our age when people have short attention spans,” he added.

While speaking to a Times reporter, Jonathan Knight, general manager for the New York Times Games, stated that the game has accomplished what only a few games have done. “It has captured our collective imagination and brought us all a little closer,” he remarked.

On November 1, 90 people participated in this game, according to The New York Times. However, two months later, on January 2, more than 300,000 people participated in the Wordle challenge.

Games and puzzles are a key part of NYT’s strategy to keep its audience engaged on its apps and websites as more readers use their mobile phones and tablets for their daily dose of news and entertainment.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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