This is how the number of digital subscribers of the New York Times grows

Following its $550 million acquisition of digital subscription sports publisher The Athletic, the New York Times has added another asset to its growing suite of digital products, albeit a much smaller one.

On Monday, The Times Company announced the addition of Wordle to its games portfolio. The popular word puzzle game, which grew its audience from tens to millions of daily players in just three months, was acquired for an undisclosed seven-figure amount.

“If you’re like me, you probably wake up every morning thinking about wordle and savoring those precious moments of discovery, surprise and achievement“, He said Jonathan Knight, general manager of The New York Times Games, in the deal announcement.

“We couldn’t be more excited to become the new home and proud stewards of this magical game, and we’re honored to help bring Josh Wardle’s prized creation to more solvers in the months to come.”

The free game will remain free after moving to the New York Times, which was likely a key requirement for the game’s creator to agree to the deal.

“I have long admired The Times’ approach to the quality of their games and the respect with which they treat their players. Their values ​​are aligned with mine in these matters and I am delighted that they will be the stewards of the game in the future.Wardle said.

While a free Wordle probably won’t move the needle in terms of subscribers, the addition of The Athletic with over a million subscribers certainly will.

As the chart below shows, the Times’ digital products have amassed more than 7.5 million subscribers since the company introduced a ‘paywall‘ (paywall) in 2011.

Subscriptions to digital news, with bundles that include all digital products, accounted for 5.7 million of that total, while standalone subscriptions to the Times’ Games, Cooking, Audio and Wirecutter products added another 1.9 million subscribers.