Such was the game's popularity that, in January 2022, it was bought by The New York Times for an undisclosed low seven-figure sum, though it remains free for players. Today, Wordle remains the newspaper's most popular word game. What drives its enduring success? Wardle attributes it to the puzzle's format of five-letter words and six guesses.

Following its public debut, Wordle exploded from 90 users on November 1, 2021, to 300,000 on January 2, 2022. The New York Times purchased it for an undisclosed seven-figure fee, and soon after, it became the publication's most popular game.