Merriam-Webster, a US dictionary publisher, has bought a popular Wordle-style game, Quordle. Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle designed the original Wordle, which challenges players to find a five-letter word in six guesses. Quordle ups the ante by challenging players to guess four five-letter words in nine attempts.
Wordle was purchased by The New York Times for a low seven-figure sum. In July 2022, Spotify acquired Heardle, a song-guessing game inspired by Wordle.
While the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed by either party, Freddie Meyer, the designer of Quordle, wrote – “I’m delighted to announce that Quordle was acquired by Merriam-Webster! I can’t think of a better home for this game,”
Quordle was a favourite of Merriam-Webster editors, according to Merriam-Webster president Greg Barlow.
Some Wordle enthusiasts were dissatisfied with adjustments made to the game following its sale in 2022, and the New York Times learned that even the seemingly simple process of selecting five-letter phrases can cause controversy.
Some users realised the word they had to guess was “fetus” (spelled “foetus” in British English), before the newspaper modified the solution, explaining they wanted Wordle to stay different from the news during the week the US Supreme Court judgement abolishing legal safeguards for abortion leaked.
Some Heardle fans were also enraged by modifications and issues that occurred following the company’s sale to Spotify.
The regularity with which the app repeated words had irritated some users. According to sources, Quordle lovers may be pleased with the change of ownership of their favourite app.