Is Wordle still free now it has moved to the New York Times?
Wordle fans around the world are worried now that the word puzzle game has come under the domain of the New York Times as it could mean a paywall could come soon.
On 10 February Wordle made its transition to its new URL at the New York Times from the now famous powerlanguage.co.uk.
The game developed by Josh Wardle, was sold to The New York Times Company for at least $1,000,000. The actual figure has not been released to the public but Wardle confirmed that it had been sold for a price “in the low seven figures.”
Will the New York Times put a place Wordle behind a paywall?
At this point, the NYT does not have plans to add Wordle its suite of games only available with a subscription. During an era defined by newspapers recreating and rebranding themselves for the digital age, the NYTs sees Wordle as a part of its strategy.
"The purchase, announced by The Times on Monday, reflects the growing importance of games, like crosswords and Spelling Bee, in the company’s quest to increase digital subscriptions to 10 million by 2025," wrote Marc Tracy a NYT reporter who covers print and digital media.
In an statement put out by The New York Times Company the wrote that the acquisition forms part of the paper's long tradition of word games.
When asked Josh Wardle, the developer of the puzzle game, provided his response to the purchase saying “If you’ve followed along with the story of Wordle, you’ll know that New York Times Games play a big part in its origins, and so this step feels very natural to me."
The door is still open on a paywall
The statement released by the company says that Wordle "will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay." This does not mean that a paywall could appear later. If the fandom surrounding the game decreases, the paper could take that as a sign to add to its list of word games.