'Wordle' clone "Quordle" purchased by Merriam-Webster for undisclosed sum

Merriam-Webster, an American publishing business best known for its online dictionary, has bought Quordle, a well-liked Wordle-style word game, according to TechCrunch. Soon after Wordle became a viral sensation online in late 2021, Quordle made its debut.

The announcement was made on Merriam-official Webster's Twitter account on Saturday. ''Welcome to the family, @quordle,'' Merriam-Webster wrote, which invites users to play the game, which was created and distributed by Merriam-Webster. At the top of the page, there is also the Merriam-Webster logo. The agreement's specifics, however, have not been made public, NDTV reported.

Additionally, a statement from Quordle inventor Freddie Meyer is included in the game's tutorial portion. "I'm delighted to announce that Quordle was acquired by Merriam-Webster! I can't think of a better home for this game. Lots of new features and fun to come, so stay tuned".

Similar to Wordle, Quordle is a word game where you have to predict four five-letter words at once with just nine trials. If users correctly identified any of the letters, they received feedback in the form of coloured hints.

''Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word. Submit your guess using the enter button. Each guess applies to the four different words you need to solve. After each guess, the tiles will change colour to show whether the letters in your guess are correct,'' the game's help tab reads.

"We're thrilled to announce that Merriam-Webster has acquired Quordle, the hugely popular word game, and a favourite of Merriam-Webster editors. It will make a great addition to our lineup of games and quizzes, and we look forward to playing along with the millions of Quordle fans every day, " Merriam-Webster President Greg Barlow said in a statement.

Quordle's inspiration, Wordle, was purchased by The New York Times last year for an "undisclosed price in the low seven figures."