THIS is the biggest story in the world right now: "The New York Times" just bought WORDLE. And now it won't be free anymore. They paid "low seven figures" for it, so that's in the millions.
They say they'll be adding it to their line-up of online word games soon, and it'll still be free at first. But it sounds like you'll eventually need a subscription to play it. (Here's their own story they did on it.)
A software engineer in Brooklyn named Josh Wardle launched the game in October. He originally made it for his partner, because she loves word games so much. Then it exploded last month, and now MILLIONS play it every day. So it's a big payday for him.
It's not clear when the change-over is happening, but it was still up at its normal website the last time we checked.
(If you can't play the official version, there are many knock-offs to fall back on.)