The New York Times buys Wordle, and today's word is TEARS

"Paywall" has too many letters.
 By 
Jack Morse
 on 
Screenshot of the Wordle puzzle game, with the first guess "shoot."
"Paywall" has too many letters. Credit: Screenshot: Wordle

Today's five-letter word is WORRY.

Josh Wardle, the creator of the popular word-puzzle game Wordle, announced Monday that he'd sold the game to the New York Times for a "low seven figures" payout.

"I am incredibly pleased to announce that I've reached an agreement with the New York Times for them to take over running Wordle going forward," wrote Wardle. "If you've followed along with the story of Wordle, you'll know the NYT games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me."


You May Also Like

In response to the news, Wordle fans expressed both happiness for Wardle and concern about what the sale bodes for the game's future. That's because, at least in part, the Times reports that the game will only "initially remain free" — aka, that could change at some undetermined future date.

Or simply that the Times will just figure out a way to ruin the game in general.

Either way, Wordle was beautiful while it lasted. TEARS.

Topics Gaming

Mashable Image
Jack Morse

Professionally paranoid. Covering privacy, security, and all things cryptocurrency and blockchain from San Francisco.

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You
Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 10, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 11, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 12, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 13, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 14, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for October 8, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

NYT Strands hints, answers for October 8, 2026
A game being played on a smartphone.

Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 8, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

NYT Connections hints today: Meanings for each word for Oct. 8, 2026
NYT Connections logo.

GTA 6 Cyberleek update: Everything leaked so far, what could be next
Jason in a biker bar in GTA 6