Your favorite puzzle game Wordle is now owned by The New York Times

What you need to know

• The New York Times announces that it has purchased the popular Wordle puzzle game.
• The game will "initially" remain free under The New York Times ownership.
• Wordle was purchased for "an undisclosed price in the low seven figures."

Wordle, the popular puzzle game that has taken over Twitter, has just been purchased by The New York Times "for an undisclosed price in the low seven figures," the publication announced on Monday.

The game, which has players guessing a new five-letter word each day with up to six tries, was first published online in October and has quickly blown up. And while there's no official app, the game is very much playable on web browsers on the best Android phones.

"If you're like me, you probably wake up every morning thinking about Wordle and savoring those precious moments of discovery, surprise and accomplishment," General manager for The New York Times Games, Jonathan Knight, said in a statement. "The game has done what so few games have done — it has captured our collective imagination and brought us all a little closer together."

"We could not be more thrilled to become the new home and proud stewards of this magical game and are honored to help bring Mr. Wardle's cherished creation to more solvers in the months ahead."

The game was created by Josh Wardle simply as a way to entertain his wife during the pandemic, something we could all relate to. This is likely why the game has managed to garner so much popularity over the past several months amid the recent surge.

However, since it's gained popularity, plenty of knockoff versions have shown up on app stores. That said, the official Wordle game can be found here for anyone that wants to give it a go. There is also a version of the game that's playable on Google Sheets called Sheetle.

Wardle posted a statement on his Twitter, saying that he is grateful that the game could bring joy to many. You can read his statement below:

The New York Times says the game will "initially" remain free for new and existing players.