The New York Times has kept the popular online game Wordle free after buying it earlier this February, but this may not be the case for long. The New York Times has its own game subscription service called NYT Games, where it has a host of other word-related puzzles already. This could mean that the newspaper may put everyone's favorite new word game behind a paywall sometime soon.
Those who have long-running streaks in Wordle fear such a change, as monetization goes against what has made the site so appealing. When Josh Wardle made the viral word game Wordle for his girlfriend, he had no idea it would become as popular as it did. Even so, he did not flood his site with ads or put a paywall on it to capitalize on Wordle's success. Fans are happy to know of his amazing deal with the New York Times but are also worried that its humble roots may soon be lost.
Indeed, Wordle would fit perfectly in the newspaper's subscription service NYT Games. No official plans have been announced to integrate Wordle into this system, but fans are waiting with bated breath. The transfer will most likely happen once the magazine can ensure Wordle will be successful in the long run, meaning it will want to give the game a few months on its website to see how well it retains players.
What Will Happen If Wordle Is No Longer Free?
Though when and if Wordle will stop being free remains a mystery, the details of a subscription to NYT Games are not. Those dedicated to following Wordle in the future will find that ing NYT Games will cost them either $1.25 a week or $40 a year. These may sound like steep asking prices for a game that can only be played once per day, but the subscription service comes with an array of other regularly updated games. The list of titles in NYT Games includes The Crossword, The Mini Crossword, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, and Vertex. Not only are these other games accessible to subscribers, but the New York Times’s archive of over 10,000 crossword puzzles is also made available with a single click on an iOS or Android device.
If the appeal of these other word games is not enough to convince fans of Wordle, though, there is still a way for them to play Wordle free forever. Nevertheless, if the new game was one’s entry point into the fun one can have with words, then an NYT Games subscription could open up a whole world of other games to play. But for now, everyone can rejoice in the fact that Wordle remains free.
