Over half a year since its acquisition by The New York Times, the popular game Wordle is getting its biggest update yet. You can now sync your Wordle stats across several devices, ensuring that your daily streak will never end by accident. This feature is now rolling out and should reach all users in the coming weeks.Unfortunately, stat syncing requires a New York Times account. And once you link Wordle to an NYT account, the decision cannot be reversed. You'll be forced to log in if you want to record your Worlde performance.You do not need to pay for this account---it's totally free. A membership is not required to play Worlde or sync your stats across devices.
This is obviously the only way for the NYT to sync Wordle stats across devices. Still, it feels like a bad sign. We don't know if Wordle will be free forever, as The New York Times has not clarified its plan for the game. Linking Wordle to an NYT account feels like a way of easing players into a subscription.
If it's any comfort, the NYT probably wouldn't benefit by making Wordle a paid game. Offering Wordle for free could help the NYT sell membership-only perks---something it's already doing with WordleBot, a subscriber-exclusive tool that evaluates your stats and daily gameplay.
At the time of writing, only a handful of people can link their Worlde stats to an NYT account. I suggest waiting a few days before trying. Bear in mind that you cannot reverse the account syncing. Your stats will be permanently tied to your NYT account if you choose to go down this route.
Source: The New York Times