The New York Times on Monday announced that it purchased Wordle, the popular online wordplay game that skyrocketed in popularity since it was first released last October. 

The media company purchased the game for an “undisclosed price in the low seven figures,” the Times said in its announcement on Monday. The company does not plan to make any changes to the online game, which will remain free-of-charge for all new and existing users. 

“If you’re like me, you probably wake up every morning thinking about Wordle and savoring those precious moments of discovery, surprise and accomplishment,” NYT Games general manager Jonathan Knight wrote in the announcement. “The game has done what so few games have done — it has captured our collective imagination and brought us all a little closer together.” 

Wordle – which gives players six chances to guess a five-letter mystery word each day – was created by Brooklyn-based software engineer Josh Wardle last October as a gift for his partner. 

According to the Times, the game has exploded in popularity in the months since it was released to the public: under 100 people played Wordle on Nov. 1, up to 300,000 in early January. 

Today, the game boasts millions of daily players. 

“I’ve long admired The Times’s approach to the quality of their games and the respect with which they treat their players,” Wardle wrote in part. “Their values are aligned with mine on these matters and I’m thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward.”

In a statement posted to social media, Wardle added that he is working alongside the New York Times to ensure players’ previous “wins and streaks will be preserved.”

Wordle is the latest iteration of problem-solving games the New York Times has offered its audience, starting with the now-iconic crossword puzzle in 1942. Since 2014, the company has rolled out games including The Mini crossword, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles and Vertex.