Developer Zack Shakked is under fire for cashing in on the Wordle craze for attempting to make a Wordle app, which, in addition to simply using the name "Wordle," offers a slightly expanded version of the game that users can pay premium prices to unlock (say, $30 a year for unlimited games) and get flooded with mobile ads.
One of the pleasant stories of the new year has been Josh Wardle's simple word game that has taken Twitter by storm. Initially created by Wardle for his partner, the game has recently caused Twitter to be filled with yellow and green grids as players share their success with the puzzles. Wardle appears to have taken the attitude that the game is a public good, as it is demonetized and ad-free.
"I think people kind of appreciate that there’s this thing online that’s just fun," Wardle told the New York Times. "It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs. It’s just a game that’s fun."
Shakked, however, saw Wordle's generosity as an opportunity to make money.
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! You can also play unlimited times if you're on the Pro version. https://t.co/eOkRovYSxN
— Zach (@zachshakked) January 10, 2022
Wordle fans were quickly on Shakked's case about copying Wardle's game, and at first, he seemed to gloat about how the "Wordle" idea was essentially public domain. For example, he responded to a critic with a link to an episode of Lingo, a television game show that essentially was Wordle in the pre-internet era, as if to imply that Wardle's idea was unoriginal and thus ripe for the taking. He also openly bragged that Wordle wasn't "trademarked" and argued that that allowed him to go through with his app.
— Zach (@zachshakked) January 10, 2022
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
Many Twitter users pointed to a seven-month-old tweet by Shakked in which he bemoaned how "shameless copying will get you nowhere."
I absolutely despise copycats. Shameless copying is so dumb. Take inspiration from others. Why are they doing that? Why is this a good feature for users? How can we build on top of that?
Shameless copy/pasting ideas/features will get you nowhere.— Zach (@zachshakked) June 22, 2021
Indeed, Shakked did not get far with the "Wordle App," as Apple removed it and numerous other Wordle clones from its app store last night.
Shakked explained himself in a sour Twitter thread, admitting he "fucked up" and promised to never do something like this again (though some questioned the defensiveness in his apology).
Here were my calculations:
a) Wordle is a ripoff of another game
b) Wordle the word isn't trademarked and there's a bunch of other unrelated word apps named the same thing
c) Wow, I'll hack together something on the weekend and see if I can make a buck— Zach (@zachshakked) January 12, 2022
This was the perfect storm to publicly crucify me for something that is common. In a week my app would've looked totally different and had way more functionality beyond what original dude did.
— Zach (@zachshakked) January 12, 2022
I realize I crossed a line. And I surely, surely will never do anything remotely close to this again. I fucked up.
— Zach (@zachshakked) January 12, 2022
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