Maker sells Wordle game for over £1million, fears players may have to pay

• Creator of Wordle sells it toh NYT for more than £1million.
• Game has daily puzzle comprising five-letter word which players have six chances to guess.
  
• NYT says: "The game would initially remain free to new and existing players." 
  

Wordle, one of the most-played word games, has been sold by its maker, software engineer Josh Wardle. He decided to sell the virtual puzzle to The New York Times Company after it snowballed and became "overwhelming" to run.

He sold the game for more than £1million but there are fears that players may have to pay to play in the future, The Mirror reported.

The game has a daily puzzle comprising a five-letter word which players have six chances to guess.

The New York Times Company has bought the game from its creator and it has been hinted by the paper that it might not be free to play in future.

The NYT has said, "the game would initially remain free to new and existing players". 

The creator tweeted and thanked users for sharing touching stories about the effect the game has had on their lives and relationships and adding that he was "thrilled" about the takeover.

He said: "Since launching Wordle, I have been in awe of the response of everyone that has played.

"The game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined (which I suppose isn't that much of a feat given I made the game for an audience of one).

"It has been incredible to watch the game bring so much joy to so many and I feel so grateful for the personal stories some of you have shared with me - from Wordle uniting distant family members, to provoking friendly rivalries, to supporting medical recoveries.

"On the flip side, I'd be lying if I said this hasn't been 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.

"Given this, 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."

The NYT said the ad-free website, which was launched in October and now has millions of daily players, was bought for a sum "in the low seven figures".