Josh Wardle

Welsh software engineer who made Wordle and sold it to The New York Times

@powerlanguish New York, United States Indie Game Makers

Josh Wardle at a glance

Known for: Wordle and Parseword
Based in: New York, United States
Indie since: 2021
Active products: Parseword

Facts checked 2026-10-22

About Josh Wardle

Josh Wardle is a Welsh software engineer and game designer based in Brooklyn, New York, best known as the creator of Wordle. He grew up on a farm near Abergavenny in South Wales, studied media arts at Royal Holloway, University of London, and took an MFA in digital art at the University of Oregon.

At Reddit he created two of the site's most famous social experiments, The Button (2015) and r/place (2017). He first prototyped a word-guessing game in 2013, revived it in 2021 for his partner Palak Shah, and released Wordle on his own website in October 2021. With one puzzle a day, no ads and shareable emoji grids, it grew from a few hundred thousand daily players to millions within weeks.

In January 2022 The New York Times bought Wordle for a price in the low seven figures. Wardle later worked at the art collective MSCHF and since 2023 has worked independently as a creative consultant and game designer through his company Powerlanguage. In March 2026 he released Parseword, a free daily puzzle game based on cryptic crosswords.

Products by Josh Wardle

Wordle

nytimes.com

acquired

Daily five-letter word-guessing game with shareable emoji results; sold to The New York Times in 2022.

Sold to NYT for low seven f…

Parseword

parseword.com

Free daily puzzle game built on cryptic-crossword clues, designed as an on-ramp for newcomers.

Timeline

2011 — Joined Reddit as an artist, later becoming a product manager.
2015 — Created The Button at Reddit.
2017 — Created r/place at Reddit.
2021 — Released Wordle publicly on his website in October.
2022 — Sold Wordle to The New York Times for a low-seven-figure sum.
2023 — Went independent as a creative consultant and game designer through Powerlanguage.
2026 — Released Parseword, a daily cryptic-crossword game.

How Josh builds

One puzzle a day keeps a game a pleasant habit rather than a time sink.
No ads, no dark patterns, no data harvesting.
Make something for the people you love first.

Josh Wardle FAQ

Who is Josh Wardle?

Who made Wordle?

Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a Welsh software engineer living in Brooklyn, who released it on his website in October 2021 after building it for his partner.

How much money did Wordle sell for?

The New York Times bought Wordle in January 2022 for an undisclosed price it described as in the low seven figures, meaning at least $1 million.

What is Josh Wardle doing now?

Since 2023 Wardle has worked as an independent creative consultant and game designer through his company Powerlanguage, and in March 2026 he launched Parseword, a daily cryptic-crossword game.