Even for a viral internet fad, these are big numbers. In total 7m people online have mentioned the game since December 2021, while 5.4m have shared their scores publicly. What makes Wordle stand out even more is the trend in its virality. Interest rose very quickly as normal, but we’ve yet to see any drastic fall in hype.

Wordle’s staying power isn’t just the great gameplay (we’ll come to that next), but in its story too. It was created in developer Josh Wardle’s spare time as a gift to his partner, and then given free to the world. A true feel-good story.

But then there was a twist. The New York Times announced it had bought the game, and this spurred yet more interest. Opinions were mixed, as many feared a paywall being added or the game being changed. Others just felt the magic of the thing was lost.

Nevertheless, it kept the game in people’s minds. The NYT buyout has yet to cause a significant drop in interest. Meanwhile, according to BuzzSumo data, 14k articles were written about the game in February, receiving 1.3m social engagements.

2. Did the NYT buyout put people off Wordle?

Thanks to the ingenious way Wordle scores are shared, it’s very easy to track scores with a simple query.

First you’ll notice how much of the Wordle conversation is taken up by shared scores. Generally it’s around 80% so, while a decent amount of people had complaints after the NYT bought Wordle, most people just posted their scores and moved on.

It is true though that score posts peaked just as the announcement was made. Numbers took a downwards turn from there, but after the game was moved to the NYT website, score shares are on their way up again.

Many players couldn’t stay away after the buyout news, while the game being on the NTY domain has likely got it in front of more people. For those who predicted interest would wane after Wordle “sold out”, the data is not on their side yet.

3. Is Wordle getting harder?

Since the switch to the New York Times domain, some users have suggested the game has gotten harder. The NYT has denied this and said they only removed words that may be considered offensive. On top of that, a look at the source code has shown no new or more difficult words have been added.

Nevertheless, maybe by coincidence, the game has taken more brain cells than usual recently. To see if this is true, we can analyze scores to see how people are faring.

We should note that this data is self-reporting, so this is by no means a rigorous analysis. It’s fair to assume people are more likely to share better scores although, looking at the data we collected, it’s clear there are a lot of honest Wordle players out there when it comes to reporting failure.

Based on our data, the trendline suggests Worlde has been getting harder recently, but it’s pretty weak. There is some vindication to those throwing their hands up in frustration lately but, as we know, this isn’t due to NYT meddling. Instead it’s just an unlucky run of words.

4. What were the hardest Wordles so far?

You’ll notice that three of the five hardest Wordles so far came three days in a row. With that in mind it’s no surprise people thought the NYT was testing them. SWILL particularly wreaked havoc with people’s streaks, but why was it so difficult?

Imagine you’re about to make your 3rd guess and you’ve guessed S_ILL correctly so far. You would then fail by entering SKILL, SPILL, STILL, and SHILL. That’s a particularly cruel one.

5. What were the easiest Wordles so far?

Another argument against the game getting significantly harder is that one of the easiest Wordles so far came only a few days ago.

But the easiest one so far, seeing the highest share of players getting it in 2 or 3 guesses was POINT back in January. Since it’s a very common word (compared to the likes of ‘swill’ at least), it’s not a big surprise to see plenty of people get it right.

6. Will Wordle remain popular?

This is yet to be seen, and we’ll certainly return to the topic later in the year, but it’s clear something about this game has clicked with people. Not only has it spawned alternative versions in tons of other languages, but also ones based on maps, that are multiplayer, or have you solving four Wordles at once.

Whatever the case, it has showcased the creativity of developers and designers around the world, and how many of them are willing to use their free time to give us all something to enjoy. Even if Wordle fades away, it’s good to be reminded of that fact as often as possible.

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The Brandwatch React team