Yahoo TV

It's the word game that went viral around the world.

Now Wordle is being acquired by the New York Times.

The deal is said to be worth a low seven-figure sum.

And the news sparked a furious online reaction.

Fans noticed that the NYT only promised to keep Wordle free "initially".

Some took that as a sign it could one day disappear behind a paywall.

Wordle was originally released back in October by former Reddit software engineer Josh Wardle.

Players get six chances to figure out a five-letter word in as few goes as possible.

Wardle says he's agreed the sale after his creation's success became too much for one person to handle.

Now the New York Times is adding it to its stable of games and puzzles.

It's trying to broaden its digital content offering with a view to hitting 10 million subscribers by 2025.