University Of Oregon Alum Sells Wordle To New York Times

PORTLAND, OR — In a way, it's a bit of a homecoming.

Wordle, the highly addictive game users are only allowed to play once a day and that has gone from 90 users to more than 300,000 in just about one month, has been sold to the New York Times.

Creator Josh Wardle, who got his master of fine arts from the University of Oregon in 2011, made the announcement on his Twitter feed.

"it's been incredible to watch a game bring so much joy to so many," he said in a statement. "I feel so grateful for the personal stories some of you have shared with me.

"On the flip side, I'd be lying if I said this hasn't been a little overwhelming. After all, I am just one person and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone."

Wardle first made Worlde in 2013 for himself and family and it kind of faded away. Then, in response to the pandemic and the fact that he and his partner found themselves playing hames on the New York Times website – particularly Spelling Bee and the crossword puzzle, he revived Wordle.

He added a setting so that people could only play once a day.

"If you followed along the story of Wordle, you'll know that NYT games play a big part in its origins so this step feels very natural to me," he wrote.

Wardle added that as part of the deal, the Times agreed to keep the game free for everyone.

The deal is said to be worth in the "low millions."

After leaving Eugene, Wardle worked for Pinterest and Reddit.