Wordle vs Worldle: New York Times Sues Geography Game
When Josh Wardle created Wordle, his goal was to make a fun game to play with his girlfriend.
But when the game became publicly available in October 2021, it quickly became popular, and Wardle sold the game to The New York Times in early 2022.
People couldn't get enough of Wordle, and soon different versions started appearing online. These included mathematical versions, versions that allowed you to play more than once a day — and a geography version called Worldle.
If you think the name sounds similar to the original, you're not alone. The New York Times thinks so too — and has taken legal action against the creator of Worldle, saying the game is "nearly identical in appearance, sound, meaning."
Worldle creator Kory McDonald doesn't agree. He told the BBC there are many other games with similar names — such as Flagle, in which players try to guess a flag from small pieces they can see.
Worldle players are required to guess a country based on Google Street View. By comparison, Wordle gives its players six chances to guess a five-letter word.
"Wordle is about words, Worldle is about the world, " McDonald told the BBC.
About 100,000 people play Worldle every month, compared to millions who play Wordle. But McDonald said most of the money he makes from his game goes to Google, since he has to pay to use Street View.
McDonald told the BBC he's quite surprised legal action is being taken, but he's not too worried.
"Worst-case scenario, we'll change the name. But I think we'll be OK," he said.
It's not the first time The New York Times has taken legal action against a version of Wordle.
In March 2024, Wirdle — a version of the game in the language of Shetland, a small group of Scottish islands — was taken down because it was too similar to the original.
