The New York Times announced on Monday that it has completed the purchase of the viral word game Wordle for a reported  "low seven-figure sum", according to the New York Times article. The creator of the game, Josh Wardle, posted an update announcing the acquisition on Monday.

"I am incredibly pleased to announce that I've reached an agreement with The New York Times for them to take over running Wordle going forward," Wardle said. "I've long admired the NYT's approach to their games and the respect with which they treat their players. their values aligned with mine on these matters and I'm thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward."

According to his and the NYT announcements, the game will remain free to play for everyone, though it will now be hosted directly on the NYT site. He also clarified that he is working with NYT to ensure player data is properly transferred over to the new site.

Wordle became a smash-hit word game over the past several months, with millions of players trying to guess the once-a-day 5-letter word in 6 guesses or less. The game has built a cult following online, with players posting their scores in the form of colored boxes all over social media and competing with friends. The game will now reside alongside iconic NYT games like the crossword puzzle.