The popularity of the viral puzzle game Wordle in the past few weeks led to various copycat apps making their way to the App Store. Apple has since cracked down on these clones and removed them from the App Store.
The original Wordle game does not have an iOS version as it is solely web-based. Many developers took advantage of this and released their own version of the game on the App Store. The most infamous copycat was app developer Zach Shakked, who lifted the concept as well as the graphics of the original game to create “Wordle – The App”. He went so far as to charge a $30 yearly subscription fee for it. That’s not all, the developer even boasted on Twitter about how much money his copycat app was raking in.
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
The #3, #7, #14, #15, and #16 best-performing word games in the app store right now are all Wordle clones that don't even change the name. It's disgusting! This guy is only unique insomuch as he's the only one bragging about it! pic.twitter.com/F3nWRI0gW1
— G. T. Karber (@gregkarber) January 11, 2022
The official Wordle game is only available for free online. Created by Josh Wardle, it is a word game wherein you have to guess a five-letter word in six tries. The game tracks how many times you have won and shows a graphic that you can share with friends. The developer has confirmed that he intends to keep the game limited to the web and free to play.
The good thing is that following all the uproar, Apple has removed all such scammy and clone games from the App Store. Only two games with the word “Wordle” are still available on the App Store, but they have been around before Wordle. One is “Wordle!,” which was released in 2016, and the other is a 2018 game called “Wordle – Word Puzzle.”
