The New York Times has recently announced its acquisition of the smash online word game Wordle on January 31. The Times will incorporate the daily word puzzle into its Games suite of word games such as The Crossword, The Mini, and Spelling Bee. The American media company has over one million Games subscriptions as of December 31, 2021.

In October 2021, Wordle was initially released on the online forum website Reddit by Brooklyn-based software engineer Josh Wardle with his partner Palak Shah–and it quickly became a cultural megahit. Basically, it is a once-a-day letter game in which users try to figure out the word of the day by guessing five letters. Each letter turns either green, yellow, or grey to signal to the player that the letter is either correctly placed, in the word but in a different location, or not in the word at all, respectively. According to the Times, millions of people now play Wordle every day. “The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world,” a statement from the media company reads. “New York Times Games are a key part of that strategy.” On Twitter, Wardle expressed his gratitude for the game’s success, “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.”