Word games are cool again and if you don’t believe me Wordle’s global popularity proves it. The simple daily 5-letter word game asks players to guess the word in 6 attempts or less. It was developed by founder Josh Wardle in late 2020, inspired by the joy Wardle felt while playing simple word games like crosswords throughout the pandemic.
Wordle’s success has largely been attributed to its ease of accessibility through its web-based experience. The game was copied by multiple app developers in an effort to capitalize on the game’s popularity, but Apple quickly banned any knockoffs. It’s free cost and unique 5-letter word answers have also played a role in its recent growth.
Additionally, the ability to share Wordle scores has introduced a community building aspect to the game. In an interview with NPR, Wardle revealed that sharing results is “a way for people to connect with friends and family that they couldn’t otherwise see, and it just provides this really easy way to touch base with others”. This element has surely promoted a significant portion of the 6.33 million mentions across social media platforms within the last month. The viral emoji-based messages containing green, yellow, and grey blocks reveal how players did on the puzzle without spoiling the answer for others.
Grey blocks reveal the encased letter is not included in the final answer. Yellow blocks contain letters that exist within the word, but their placement is incorrect. Finally, green blocks contain letters that are correctly placed within the final answer.
Selling Wordle
On January 31st, a large spike in Wordle mentions across platforms was noted following an announcement from the creator of the game. A sudden increase of 200,000+ mentions across social media platforms followed the news of Wordle exchanging hands. A heartfelt note was posted on Twitter by Wardle explaining that Wordle had been sold to The New York Times.
Although Wardle makes no mention of price, New York Times revealed that they acquired the game for “an undisclosed price in the low seven figures.” Leaders in the conversation led on Twitter following the news included Josh Wardle, The New York Times, and CNN which account for a combined follower count of over 107 million.
In his statement, Wardle promises that the game will continue to be accessed for free and that he is working alongside personnel from The New York Times to ensure players do not lose their win streaks in the turnover process.
Opportunities for growth
Wordle’s success is not only felt in the North America’s. Its global potential for growth remains opportunistic since the game has only been offered in English. A chart from our social media analytics tool, Sprinklr, reveals additional countries who have already participated in the Wordle craze on social media. Multi-language settings might be one of the upgrades we see early on in the transition to The New York Times.
Until the sale, Wardle was the sole operator of the game and The New York Times revealed that he was in many ways, relieved, to have passed on the game to a much larger entity. The New York Times offers the appropriate resources to carry on the legacy of the homemade Wordle while ensuring improvements and growth that were otherwise inaccessible.
The Wordle legacy
It is hard to believe that one man’s 5-letter word game has created such a large impact across the globe. Twitter pages have been dedicated to the game, fan communities have developed within family and friend circles, one Twitter user even crocheted her own Wordle.
As I wrap up this blog, I want to note how important it is to share your ideas and interests with others. If Josh Wardle did not make Wordle accessible to the public, he would not be a “somewhere in the low 7 digits”-illionaire today. Small joys and hobbies that we experience in our day to day lives hold the potential for global influence and more importantly- the opportunity for us to spread happiness.
