Developer of apparent ‘Wordle’ clone facing backlash

A developer of an apparent Wordle clone is facing backlash after some have pointed out similarities between it and the hit free-to-play word game.

• READ MORE: ‘Rainbow Six Extraction’ preview: a challenging co-op shooter that’s all about stealth

Searching the term Wordle on the App Store returns Wordle – The App, a game created by Shakd, LLC, owned by Zach Shakked.

Shakked says of the app that:
“I love Wordle so much I decided to make my own Wordle app but with a twist! There’s not just 5-letter words, but also 4, 6, and 7 letter words too!”

This is absurd. 450 trials at 1am last night, now at 950 and getting a new ones every minute. 12K downloads, rank #28 word game, and #4 result for “wordle” in the App Store. We’re going to the fucking moon. pic.twitter.com/fE7fsgYVJC

— Zach (@zachshakked) January 11, 2022

Zach has also claimed that the game achieves thousands of downloads per hour.

I’m literally giddy right now – that’s 5.4k downloads in 1 FUCKING HOUR. pic.twitter.com/1XfAFcHlof

— Zach (@zachshakked) January 11, 2022

The game offers a free trial and a paid version, with the latter element being a significant point of contention with Wordle players on Twitter who’ve noticed the similarities.

The developer of the upcoming PlayDate handheld, @cabel, responded saying:

“That’s ironic because I’m now literally giddy to hopefully walk the creator of Wordle through the App Store takedown process.”

The reception around Twitter has been similarly negative.

Developer Andy Baio tweeted the following in response to Shakked’s apparent bragging.

This guy shamelessly cloned Wordle (name and all) as an F2P iOS game with in-app purchases and is bragging about how well it’s doing and how he’ll get away with it because Josh Wardle didn’t trademark it. So gross. pic.twitter.com/kIs8BypuRA

— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) January 11, 2022

Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle, is yet to comment. It’s unclear whether Wardle would have any power in taking the game down, beyond pointing out the similar mechanics and, of course, the name. App Store clones of popular games are common, with hundreds of unlicensed Fortnite and PUBG clones littering the platform.

The New York Times discovered that Josh Wardle designed the game for his partner, naming it after his own surname. Wardle then introduced it to his family and later released it online, and now coloured blocks are appearing every day on Twitter.

Elsewhere, Lego has announced that it has delayed its Overwatch 2 Titan set following the Activision Blizzard allegations and lawsuit. The Overwatch 2 Titan set was set to release on February 1 despite the game not launching until next year.