Merriam-Webster has bought Quordle, the word-solving game that debuted in the height of Wordle's popularity.
With that, instead of existing on its own, the game now resides straight up on Merriam-Webster's website, The Verge writes.
Quordle Rides On Wordle's Huge Success
Merriam-Webster, the subsidiary of Encyclopedia Britannica best known for its online dictionary, has bought Quordle, a popular Wordle clone.
While the terms of the acquisition have not been finalized yet, Quordle creator Freddie Meyer says that he is excited about the deal and the new features about to come.
"I'm delighted to announce that Quordle was acquired by Merriam-Webster! I can't think of a better home for this game," he says in a statement.
Quordle is just one of several spinoffs that attempted to capitalize on Wordle's success by having users post their scores on Twitter and compete with friends to solve the word of the day with the fewest guesses.
Wordle is a simple web-based game that allows participants six chances to identify a five-letter word, with color-coded clues serving as feedback whether any of the letters are correct.
The New York Times purchased Wordle in January for a seven-figure fee, and the game appears to have drawn millions of new subscribers to the NYT's Games service in the intervening months.
Later, the media juggernaut included Wordle to its crossword puzzle app and even created a physical board game using Wordle, Tech Crunch notes.
As if we needed any more proof of Wordle's long-tail cultural and technological impact, Spotify last summer bought Heardle, a Wordle-inspired music guessing game.
Quordle, on the other hand, expands on the fundamental Wordle idea, but there are four five-letter words to guess at once and there are only nine attempts.
The user can determine which guesses are right by the color of the tiles, which also indicate whether a letter is present in the word but in a different place.
Read More: The Hardest Wordle Words Have Been Revealed
Quordle Might Take The World By Storm Just Like Wordle
Quordle entered the market in February of last year, one month after the NYT, and reportedly attracted 1 million players in just two months.
Although its developer Meyer stated that he had "no plans to monetise Quordle," the game was not much more than a side project.
To offset costs, the creators did place some advertisements on the page rather than asking for donations, Tech Crunch details.
Today, Quordle is under the control of Merriam-Webster, a company that has grown beyond its printed dictionary roots that date back over 200 years to include its first website in 1996.
There are numerous ancillary language-focused digital services after that, such vocabulary games for kids.
A NYT-style Games & Quizzes webpage, which will house Quordle going forward, is one of its online products.
"We're thrilled to announce that Merriam-Webster has acquired Quordle, the hugely popular word game, and a favorite of Merriam-Webster editors," Merriam-Webster President Greg Barlow notes.
Related Article: You Can Now Play Wordle in The New York Times Crossword App
