Frankly, the decline looks less bad than I'd expected, given how short my own appreciation and of those in my bubble lasted. Google searches are still at ~50% of peak volume (not going to log in to Twitter just to view the thread). Also, Wordle is fun enough that I can see it having a renaissance at some later point (look at Rubik's cubes - the initial boom lasted for 1-2 years, but they're still popular four decades later).
How tight is the correlation between tweets and users though? Anecdotally I know quite a few people who play every day but only ever share their results in private channels. For those that want to compare their results with the general population there is now also WordleBot which probably eats into the tweetshare.
You’re welcome to find other quantifiable sources, but to me Google trends speak for themselves. Also, less and less people not sharing answers reduces odds of new users finding it. WordleBot might aggregate stats, but it’s not them same as getting users to share on social media.
Honestly indifferent, thought Wordle was doing better, but I do believe in quantifying trends via notable significant sources; again, if you’re able to think of any, for example NYT article covering it’s grow since being acquired, I would be interested.
I hadn't actually commented on Google. I am saying that I think there is much weaker correlation between tweets and users/growth than in the early days. I therefore don't think WordleStats is a very useful barometer for the Times' investment.
As for Google Trends, I actually think those are some good numbers. Considering what the 100% peak represents in absolute terms, 40% of it is still very solid. I think it's more informative to look at the trend in the context of other search terms. Pick any of the news major stories that have captured the public's attention over the past few months: Russia's invasion of Ukraine; Depp v Heard; Roe v Wade. Wordle is crushing them all. Indeed it seems the only thing more viral than Wordle is COVID. Maybe we'll see some official numbers from the Times at some point but in the absence of anything concrete I suspect they are happy with their purchase.
In any case, do I think Figure can match the meteoric rise of Wordle? It's statistically unlikely. Can it be profitable? I'm no expert in game monetization but for the OP's sake I hope so. I like it.
More likely that part of the fun of sharing Wordle was it was not prompting a huge media company, as soon as NYT bought it, my guess is people were less likely to share it, especially other news organizations.
I was honestly surprised to see it had declined, since Wordle still shows up in top ten Google trends on almost a daily basis.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/business/media/new-york-t...