Several opportunistic developers have decided to appropriate the Wordle phenomenon to offer clones on the App Store. Apple is not really in favor of it.
Wordle, the Motus 2.0 accessible by a simple internet link, is the phenomenon of the beginning of the year. And, of course, it attracts opportunists. As several media have noted, like The Verge in an article from January 11, clones are starting to proliferate on the App Store. Except that Apple does not really agree with this practice of riding a wave without any ounce of creativity.
In a first article, the media mentioned the existence of several copies of Wordle, knowing that Josh Wardle, at the origin of the original game, did not develop any mobile application. Titles like ‘Wordle – Daily Word Game’ or even ‘What Word – Wordle’ appeared within a few hours on the App Store (even the name is copied). On Google Play, you can still find ‘Wordle – Word Challenge’ by typing the word ‘Wordle’ in the search bar (an application available since January 11, with similar rules).
Wordle recalls Flappy Bird
Big fan of Wordle, Zachary Shakked did not miss the opportunity to offer his own application – Wordle The App – on the App Store (it is no longer available at the time of writing). It went so far as to integrate a Pro mode billed at $ 30 per year, justified by the integration of additional features (infinite game for example). Quite a symbol of the drifts born of a phenomenon.
“ I love Wordle so much that I decided to make my own Wordle app, with a twist! There are not only 5 letter words, but also 4, 6 and 7! You can also play it endlessly thanks to the Pro version “, He announced in a tweet published on January 10 (withdrawn today).
Six months ago, in a message unearthed by Internet users who did not really agree with his initiative, the person nevertheless denounced those who copied concepts …
According to Protocol, Zachary Shakked has temporarily put his Twitter profile in private to protect himself from criticism and emerging harassment. He has now returned to the social network apologizing: “ I believed there was an opportunity. I was wrong. There were none. I will go back to making 100% original applications. ”
He still justified some of his decisions througha long thread where he explains why he reused the same interface (he planned to change it later) and why he integrated a paid mode (” This is how business works “). He also recalls that Wordle is itself a copy of another game and the name has not been registered as a trademark. ” What do you think about the fact that Apple can remove applications, without any recourse? He asks.
Seeing developers looking to turn a hugely popular game into a profitable one is nothing new. We remember for example Flappy Bird, which had caused so much damage to its creator, as well as to Apple and Google because of the dozens of clones.