Pokémon Wordle, the Japanese puzzle game where players guess a Pokémon’s name in a set number of turns, is shutting down for good on October 3. The developer made the announcement today, and the reason is not The Pokémon Company. It was The New York Times.
The game, created by Twitter user giga_yadoran, launched back in January 2022. It’s one of many variants on the Wordle formula, which has spawned everything from Poople to Pokedle. Pokémon Wordle asked players to guess a Pokémon name, a simple enough idea that spread fast through the Pokémon community.
Shutdown Confirmed
giga_yadoran confirmed the shutdown in a tweet posted today. “We received contact from the New York Times regarding Wordle rights, so Pokémon Wordle will end its public release on 10/3 (Sat),” giga wrote. “Thank you to everyone who played it until now!”
The response from fans was immediate and warm. One player replied, “Over the years, you’ve entertained me greatly,” and added, “Thank you so very, very much.” Another took the occasion to criticise The New York Times directly.
“Wordle itself is just an analog game turned into a digital one, and all that happened was the New York Times acquired it,” the fan wrote. “It doesn’t have any novelty, nor does it have any patents, and in the first place, given that Wordle itself is a rip-off game, I think the New York Times claiming copyright infringement against games similar to Wordle is way too thuggish…”
Why The New York Times Asked
The shutdown is happening because of Wordle’s copyright holder, not because of pressure from The Pokémon Company. That distinction matters to the Pokémon community, which has spent years building its own unauthorised games and mods.
Pokémon Wordle is not the same as Pokedle, a separate free-to-play fan game that is loosely based on Wordle without being a direct clone. The game’s popularity came from its simplicity: a familiar daily routine adapted to a franchise that already rewards memory work.
Fans who played the game are now left with a sense of loss. The shutdown removes one of the few daily Pokémon routines that existed outside the official releases, and it does so because of a company that has never been associated with Pokémon before.
What Pokémon Fans Lose
The loss of Pokémon Wordle means the Pokémon community loses one of its daily rituals. Wordle clones have become a fixture of internet life, and Pokémon Wordle carved out a niche by applying the formula to a franchise with thousands of names to guess.
The game’s shutdown raises questions about the future of fan-made content. If The New York Times can shut down a Pokémon clone, what stops other copyright holders from doing the same? The Pokémon Company has largely let fan projects exist in the grey area, but this shows that even that space is not safe forever.
The Fan Response
The fan who criticised The New York Times was not alone in their anger. The fan’s argument was blunt: Wordle is an analog game that became digital, and The New York Times simply bought it. There are no patents involved, and the original game was itself a rip-off of an earlier word game. Claiming copyright infringement against games similar to Wordle, the fan argued, is “way too thuggish.”
Official Releases On The Horizon
The Pokémon Company has its hands full with official releases. The next big title is Winds & Waves, coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. Fans hoping for more details will have to wait, as the game’s one and only official trailer has produced many leaks since then, but no new trailer has surfaced.
The game’s next major release, Gen 10, is still far off. Fans will likely have to wait until early next year for more information. That leaves a gap in the calendar, and a gap in the daily routine.
A Daily Routine Ends
The shutdown removes a small but consistent joy from the lives of Pokémon fans. Daily routines matter, and losing one can feel like losing a friend. The game was free, it was fun, and it was gone in an instant.
The only statement came from giga_yadoran, who confirmed the shutdown without complaint.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Pokémon Wordle launch | January 2022 |
| Shutdown confirmed | Today |
| Shutdown takes effect | October 3 |
The Paper’s View
The shutdown is a strange moment for the Pokémon community. It’s a fan project that was popular, that didn’t harm anyone, and that is now gone because of a company that has nothing to do with Pokémon.
The fan’s criticism of The New York Times is sharp, and it reflects a wider frustration with how copyright law is applied online. Wordle became a standard because it was simple and free to copy. The New York Times now holds the rights, and it is using them to shut down games that borrow the format.
The Pokémon community will find a way forward. There are plenty of other clones to play, and the next official release is on the horizon. But the loss of Pokémon Wordle is real, and the fact that it happened because of The New York Times is a strange footnote in the history of the franchise.
The game is gone, and the only thing left is the memory of it. Players will remember the daily routine, the joy of guessing a Pokémon name, and the sudden end of it all.
See the video the story is built around at Screen Rant.
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