Wordle had 300,000 users on Jan 3, 2022
When the NYT published a news article about Wordle on January 3, 2022, the game already had about 300,000 users and was going viral.
Snapshot · Freakonomics Radio
675. Has the New York Times Become a Games Company?
Explore episode
May 15, 2026
Where this was said
How Wordle Went Viral and the NYT Acquired It
At 40:13 · chapter starts 39:30
Josh Wardle built Wordle for friends and family — it was actually his second attempt at the game after putting it down and returning to it. The green-and-gray emoji grid that players share after each round grew organically out of community feedback during peak pandemic Twitter. By January 3, 2022, when the NYT's own newsroom published a feature about the game, it had about 300,000 users and was clearly going viral. Knight read the article that morning, got multiple forwarded messages from colleagues, called Wardle two days later while flat on his back with COVID, and moved as fast as he could. The acquisition was announced publicly on January 31, 2022. The Times won't confirm the price, but it was reported as a low seven-figure sum. Wardle was eager to sell — the game had grown beyond his capacity to manage — and the Times was eager to acquire something that already 'looked and played like a New York Times game, very clean, very elegant.' It brought tens of millions of new users. The Times, Knight notes, aims to be good stewards of it.
How Wordle Went Viral — and How the NYT Pounced
Josh Wardle built Wordle for friends and family. By January 2022 it had 300,000 users and was exploding on Twitter. Jonathan Knight, sick with COVID, got on the phone with Wardle and closed the deal in weeks — for a reported low seven figures.
Wordle acquired Jan 31, 2022
The New York Times publicly announced it had acquired Wordle on January 31, 2022, just weeks after the game went viral.
Wordle acquired for low 7 figures
The New York Times reportedly acquired Wordle from creator Josh Wardle for a price reported to be in the low seven figures, a bargain given the tens of millions of new users it brought.
Wordle Acquisition: Tens of Millions of New Users for Low 7 Figures
Wordle cost the NYT a reported low seven figures and brought tens of millions of new users. That makes it one of the most cost-effective media acquisitions ever — compared to the $1 billion paid for the Boston Globe, which sold for $70 million.
What Makes a NYT Game Worth Keeping
The NYT tests new games in Canada first, watching day-1, day-7, and day-30 retention above all else. If people come back, it's because the game made them feel accomplished. If they don't, no solve rate fix can save it.
Similar snapshots
$14K/month in 6 months
Sam built Algrow from zero to $14,000 in monthly revenue within just six months of shipping his first MVP.
10,000 users in 6 months
Algrow reached over 10,000 users in roughly six months, driven almost entirely by organic Discord community growth.
First 400 users from Discord
Sam acquired his first 400 users entirely through Discord communities, without paid advertising or traditional outreach.
480 new customers in one month
Algrow added exactly 480 new paying customers in its most recent month, demonstrating strong ongoing growth.
£10K revenue in last 4 weeks
Sam's Stripe dashboard showed over £10,000 in revenue in the last four weeks, equivalent to roughly $13,000–$14,000 USD.
Free access for early users as growth hack
Sam gave all early users free access so they could show the tool to friends, turning them into live demos and advocates who helped the product spread virally.
No self-promo rule exploit: screen sharing
By silently screen-sharing his tool in Discord voice chats rather than posting links, Sam attracted curiosity without violating no-self-promo server rules.
$10K+ from affiliate marketing first
Before building Algrow, Sam and two friends made over $10,000 in revenue through affiliate marketing for RizzApp by posting faceless texting story content.
$13K MRR with $0 marketing spend
Bhanu grew SiteGPT to $13,000 monthly recurring revenue entirely through organic channels, spending nothing on paid marketing.
