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Some Wordle players reported that their streaks and stats had disappeared after the Times took over today.
Wordle is a free daily word game that confused us all when colorful squares started popping up all over Twitter. It was brilliant, both in its simplicity and in the way it restricted players to one game per day: It was impossible to overload on it because after you’d solved (or not) the daily puzzle, you were done until the next day.
Naturally, this delicate piece of perfection could not be left alone: Near the end of January, just a few months after its October 2021 debut, the New York Times bought it. Creator Josh Wardle said that as part of his deal with the Times, he was working to preserve player stats, so wins and streaks would carry over. Unfortunately, there were some bumps in that particular road: The transition to the NYT took place today, and a number of players discovered when they went for their daily play that their streaks were gone.
The Times acknowledged fairly quickly that something wasn’t quite right, but said it had the problem sussed out and was «actively working on a solution.» Several hours later, the very simple fix was revealed: Use the old Wordle URL to get into the game.
If you go directly to the NYT Wordle page without a redirect, your stats will not go with you. For more troubleshooting help, here’s our FAQ: https://t.co/n92Lm5WQJyFebruary 11, 2022
«To preserve your streaks, please open the old URL last used to play Wordle. This will automatically redirect to the NYT Wordle page, carrying your streaks with you,» the Times tweeted. «If you go directly to the NYT Wordle page without a redirect, your stats will not go with you.»
It seems effective. I had completely forgotten about Wordle switching to the Times (and was briefly baffled by the minor cosmetic changes at the startup screen), so I went to the game through the original URL—www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/, if you need it—which now redirects to the Times. After successfully completing the puzzle, my stats appeared just as they always had—streak, win percentage, and all the rest.
Aside from the changed URL, Wordle on the Times is virtually identical to the original game, but some players are a little nervous about what the future might hold for their favorite daily diversion. The NYT promised that Wordle will «initially remain free to new and existing players,» but the presence of «initially» in that statement could not be overlooked: Games on the Times’ website have varying pricing structures, but the bottom line is that a major media corporation doesn’t drop a million bucks or more on a word game without figuring to make money on it somehow.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.
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