Wordle clones are spreading like wildfire on the App Store. The popular word game played once a day has users craving more. After Apple wiped out nearly all the Wordle knockoffs in January, they’re back and stronger than ever.
When searching “Wordle” in the App Store, you will find a series of look-alikes. “Wordus”, “Wordle!”, and “Word Guess” top the list, along with “Wordi” and “Wurdle and Chill”. These games don’t actually claim to be Wordle, they have rebranded with similar-sounding names.
Many of the games offer the same user experience and look-and-feel of Wordle. According to The Verge, the games removed in January were vastly different word games than their smash-hit role model.
Apple’s App Store Guidelines states in section 4.1 on Copycats:
“Come up with your own ideas. We know you have them, so make yours come to life. Don’t simply copy the latest popular app on the App Store, or make some minor changes to another app’s name or UI and pass it off as your own. In addition to risking an intellectual property infringement claim, it makes the App Store harder to navigate and just isn’t fair to your fellow developers.”
While Wordle isn’t on the App Store, it’s clear that these knockoffs are here to profit off of the word game’s success. Back in January, the New York Times bought Wordle from developer Josh Wardle for over $1 million.
Will Apple continue to remove these clones from the App Store or will this be left to the New York Times to worry about? Looks like we will have to see.
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