davidcel.is

A cowboy coder.

About me

Hey there, I’m David! I’m a Principal Software Engineer at FireHydrant (where I write APIs) out in Portland, Ore. (where I drink IPAs). I write about tech (rarely), food (often), and whatever else is on my mind.

Work

Company

FireHydrant

Role

Principal Software Engineer

Date

2021 Now
Company

Stripe

Role

Staff Software Engineer

Date

2019 2021
Company

HashiCorp

Role

Senior Software Engineer

Date

2017 2019
Company

GitHub

Role

Software Engineer

Date

2016 2017

Download CV

Mastodon
Bluesky
Threads
GitHub
Instagram
RSS Feeds

now taking bets on when we’ll have to start paying for Wordle

An excerpt from an article about The New York Times' acquisition of Wordle: "Wordle was acquired from its creator, Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, for a price 'in the low seven figures,' The Times said. The company said the game would initially remain free to new an existing players."

The last sentence has been circled, with the word "initially" underlined thrice and accompanied by three question marks.

A notice from the Josh Wardle, creator of popular word game Wordle, titled "An update on Wordle":

Since launching Wordle, I've been in awe of the response from everyone that has played. The game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined (which I suppose isn't that much of a feat given I made the game for an audience of 1).

It has been incredible to watch a game bring so much joy to so many, and I feel so grateful for the personal stories some of you have shared with me - from Wordle uniting distant family members, to provoking friendly rivalries, to supporting medical recoveries.

On the flip side, I'd be lying if I said this hasn't been a little overwhelming.
After all, I am just one person, and it is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone.

Given this, 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. If you've followed along with the story of Wordle, you'll know that NYT games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me.

I've long admired the NYT's approach to their games and the respect with which they treat their players. Their values are aligned with mine on these matters and I'm thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward.

When the game moves to the NYT site, it will be free to play for everyone, and I am working with them to make sure your wins and streaks will be preserved. (This section is circled.)

Thank you all for playing and making Wordle an unforgettable experience.

Jan 31, 2022 at 10:15 PM UTC

Did you like this post, repost it, or respond to it? Let me know by sending a webmention!

Navigation