Wordleis currently one of the most popular online games out there thanks to its viral status, which eventually net Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle an offer from The New York Times to purchase the game.Wordleis now available on the official website of The New York Times, which has garnered thousands of players over the past few months to try and get the daily word right before it’s gone. The fact thatWordlecan only be played daily is part of its charm for some gamers, but for others, it might induce the fear of missing out, or FOMO for short.
In this context, the fear of missing out onWordlemeans that players who don’t guess the daily word before it vanishes can feel bad at the idea of having to play within a certain timeframe to avoid that. As such, a great way to playWordleat one’s pace was to visitWordlearchives spread throughout the Internet, which used all the previously available words andWordle’s signature style to provide access to content that’s not there anymore. However, all theWordlearchives have been forced to shut downby The New York Times, with the last one of them just a couple of days ago, and this move might backfire.
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How Shutting Down Wordle Archives Can Hurt The Original Game
BecauseWordleis now the intellectual property of The New York Times, other websites can’t use the game to generate traffic to their own domain, even if that’s by offering a simple archive service that the official game is still lacking. As such, The New York Times issued notices toWordlearchive websitesto shut them down immediately, a move that’s likely thought to take that online traffic back to the source of the original game.
Because of this, now fans of the game have no way to replay older levels, and they can only truly enjoy the thrill ofWordleonce a daybefore the word changes to a new one. This is a big loss for the community. Instead of relaying that online traffic back to The New York Times' website, it could easily backfire with players now seeking clones more than ever. This could happen because they don’t really like FOMO and being forced to play every single day to see what the words are.
There are many greatWordleclones currently available, and it doesn’t take long for fans of this type of game to find ones that better fit their standards, with plenty of clones having the option for multiple matches in a row.Wordle’s speedy matches are what called for clonesand archives in the first place, and now all the archives have been shut down for good. As the only alternative left, those clones might become even more popular than the original with their own peculiar gimmicks and strategies.
Even if The New York Times launches the official archive, this strict policy might have backfired already by then, reducing the overall engagement withWordleas a whole, outside of those fans who enjoy the game for what it brings every day. Overall, there are many ways in which shutting down the last remainingWordlearchive might have repercussions, especially considering thatWordle’s popularity is already dwindlingcompared to when it was met with success and Internet-wide fame.
